ENGINEERING. A THESIS APPROVED FOR THE SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL
ENGINEERING. BY .... Figure 3.14 Links to the examples and problems section.
49.
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE
INTERNET BASED INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE FOR INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE (Industrial Engineering)
By HRISHIKESH C. POTDAR Norman, Oklahoma 2000
INTERNET BASED INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE FOR INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING A THESIS APPROVED FOR THE SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
BY
_______________________________ Dr. Kurt Gramoll
_______________________________ Dr. Thomas Landers
_______________________________ Dr. Mary C. Court
Copyright by HRISHIKESH POTDAR 2000 All Rights Reserved.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS An endeavor like this would not have been possible without the blessings of His Almighty Lord Sai Baba. It is because of his grace and mercy that I have been able to complete my thesis and Masters program in the United States of America. The quality and success of a Masters thesis research is greatly dependant on the motivation and direction provided by the thesis advisor. It has been my privilege to work under the mentorship of Dr. Kurt Gramoll, who introduced me to the world of Internet based research. Thanks, Dr Gramoll for your patience, understanding, guidance and freedom given to me for completing this research. I am extremely thankful to Dr Thomas Landers, Co-Chair and Dr. Mary Court, committee member for their time, efforts and cooperation throughout the thesis. Special thanks to Dr. Randa Shehab and Sylvana Saudale for helping me with the statistical analysis at a short notice. I am grateful to all my colleagues in the Engineering Media Lab for their cooperation. My sincere thanks to Carl Nelson and Mike Bradford for their help in developing the online review system. I would like to thank my friend Karthik for his company, friendship and all the help he has provided to make my stay comfortable and enjoyable at the University of Oklahoma. I would also like to thank all my friends back home, as well as in USA for their support and encouragement. To my family, Aai, Baba and Sonali, without your constant support, encouragement and prayers from the other side of the globe this work would have been extremely difficult. Thanks for doing what parents do the best. I would also like to thank Dr. Anil Deshpande for the support he gave me to continue my studies in USA. Last but
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certainly not he least, special thanks to my fiancé Reva for her exemplary patience, love and understanding in bearing with me the long and lonely years of being away while I continued my degree program. Thanks for being a part of my life and supporting me through thick and thin.
V
TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
IV
LIST OF FIGURES
IX
LIST OF TABLES
XI
ABSTRACT
XII
1. INTRODUCTION
1
1.1 The Fundamentals of Engineering Examination
2
1.2 The FE Project
4
1.3 Outline for industrial engineering FE exam and its benefits
4
1.4 Objectives of research
6
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
8
2.1 Trends in education technologies
8
2.2 Distance education
12
2.3 Interactive learning
13
2.4 The World Wide Web
15
2.5 The Internet and its impact on education
16
2.6 SWOT analysis of Internet based learning
20
2.7 Programming languages on WWW
22
2.8 Current methods of review for the FE exam
26
3. ONLINE REVIEW SITE
30
3.1 Pre-project survey
30
3.2 Site layout
32
3.3 Navigation
32
VI
3.4 Basics page
37
3.5 Examples page
50
3.6 Problems page
52
4. ONLINE EXAM GENERATION SYSTEM
56
4.1 Introduction
56
4.2 Methodology for problem generation
56
4.3 Testing procedure
60
5. SOFTWARE USED FOR SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
65
5.1 Animation software – Macromedia Flash
66
5.2 Simulation software – Macromedia Director
68
5.3 Online Analytical Processing Tools
70
5.4 Three dimensional modeling
71
5.5 Graphics authoring software
72
5.6 Streaming video processing software
74
5.7 Equation formating software
75
5.8 HTML authoring software
76
5.9 Online exam generation software
77
6. EVALUATION AND FEEDBACK
80
6.1 Web trends analysis
80
6.2 Post project survey
83
6.3 Statistical analysis
86
VII
7 SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
90
7.2 Summary
90
7.3 Recommendations for the future
92
REFERENCES
95
APPENDIX A: Post project survey
99
APPENDIX B: Output from SAS for the Post Project Survey
103
APPENDIX C: PERL program for online exam generation system
125
VIII
LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1
Human – Human Interaction system
14
Figure 2.2
Human – Computer Interaction system
14
Figure 2.3
A Snapshot of the ASME review site
27
Figure 3.1
Shockwave Pull down menu option
33
Figure 3.2
HTML Pull down menu option
34
Figure 3.3
Links for obtaining Plug-ins
34
Figure 3.4
Industrial Engineering Modules
35
Figure 3.5
The Basics page
39
Figure 3.6
Graphics and image processing
40
Figure 3.7
An animation created using Macromedia Flash
41
Figure 3.8
Icons for accessing the animations
42
Figure 3.9
Opitz system of classification using Flash
43
Figure 3.10
A JavaScript Calculation Tool
45
Figure 3.11
A SCARA robot modeled using VRML
46
Figure 3.12
A Quick time streaming video on quality management
47
Figure 3.13
Simulation for designing a pressure vessel
48
Figure 3.14
Links to the examples and problems section
49
Figure 3.15
Examples page
51
Figure 3.16
The Problems Page
52
Figure 3.17
Separate pop-up window for the problem
53
Figure 3.18
Selection of a button by the user
54
Figure 3.19
The status of a problem when a correct answer is selected
55
IX
Figure 4.1
Block diagram showing problem generation system
60
Figure 4.2
The main page for taking practice tests
61
Figure 4.3
Login Page for accessing the practice exams
62
Figure 4.4
Page allowing selection of old exams and generation of new exams 62
Figure 4.5
The problems generated for the exam
63
Figure 4.6
The score report generated for an exam
64
Figure 6.1
Activity levels by the hour of the day on the online review site
81
Figure 6.2
Activity level by the day of the week
82
Figure 6.3
Most active organizations visiting the online review site
82
Figure 6.4
Data format for SAS analysis
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X
LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1
SWOT analysis of Internet based learning
21
Table 3.1
Analysis of the pre-project survey
31
Table 6.1
Analysis of the post-project survey
85
Table 6.2
Summary of the results obtained from SAS
88
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ABSTRACT New and developing electronic communication tools are rapidly changing the methods in which educators can educate and students can learn. Electronically supported collaborative learning environments utilizing various interactive technologies are now being used in all levels of education, including K-12, industrial training and higher education. This research focuses on the application of educational technologies and the Internet for industrial engineering education. In particular, the online review system developed by the University of Oklahoma for the afternoon session of the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam for Industrial Engineering was selected to demonstrate an effective use of the these new electronic communications tools and networks. This work forms a part of the Fundamentals of Engineering Review project carried out by the University of Oklahoma. The online review system uses all forms of electronic media including graphics, animations, simulations, text and 3D visualizations thus enabling the students to learn and remember difficult concepts by visualizing and interacting with them. A random generated exam has been developed to help the user practice taking the actual exam. The practice exam is graded instantly and reported to the user through the web. A positive feedback regarding the efficacy of the online review system was obtained from a survey group. The online review system also lays the framework for the complete curriculum of industrial engineering on the Internet. Furthermore, it can also be used to promote and propagate the field of industrial engineering to prospective students and therefore can be utilized as an effective recruitment tool by Industrial Engineering schools.
XII
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
The education and training sector has faced an increase in the number of people who wish to undertake additional education beyond high school. One reason for this demand for higher education is the changing nature of the work environments, from a conventional product-based economy to a knowledge-based economy. This increased demand has resulted in larger class sizes, high student to faculty ratios and a decrease in interaction between the students and the instructors (Ng and Gramoll, 1999). Also in the past decade there has been an increase in the number of students coming to the United States from different countries for higher education. This increases the cultural diversity in the classroom and an instructor might find it difficult to cope with the learning styles of people from different backgrounds. In this pool of students there is also a mixture of working professionals who are studying part time and need flexible scheduling for classes. Internet-based learning offers an effective alternative to address the above problems. Internet-based learning offers several advantages as compared to conventional classroom based learning. Internet-based learning uses the information processing ability of the computer by adapting to the needs of the student and removing the rigid form of traditional learning. The Internet has also reduced the geographical barriers between the students and the instructor without significantly changing the quality of learning experience (McArthur and Lewis, 1998). In fact geographical independence has decreased the delay in distributing classroom material and instructions as they are
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immediately posted on the web by the instructor and the troubles of making copies and distributing them in a large classroom are avoided. The Internet also ensures platform independence with respect to the software used for web-based learning since the software works effectively well on Unix, Macintosh or Windows operating systems. The Internet also allows students and instructors to discuss with each other as individuals or in a group to clarify their doubts through online collaboration tools. Along with these advantages of the Internet, there are some problems which one comes across while using the Internet for e-education. It was pointed out by Cisco systems CEO John Chambers that “The main roadblock to e-learning is lack of infrastructure and content rich applications, as well as a mindset in some cultures that is not ready to accept education not bound by a master/novice framework” (McCright, 1999). Although, in most universities students have free Internet connections, off-campus students have to pay substantial fees for high bandwidth connections to receive Internetbased education. This difficulty may lead to student anxiety about extensively using the web for online courses and should be addressed.
1.1 THE FUNDAMENTALS OF ENGINEERING (FE) EXAMINATION
As stated above the Internet can be used effectively for imparting quality education. But due to some of the restrictions listed in the preceding section one needs to evaluate the effectiveness of Internet-based education by conducting a pilot study. Before using the Internet for building the complete curriculum for Industrial Engineering it is necessary to determine the feasibility of such a large project. Building and testing an
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Internet-based review system for the FE exam can serve as a good framework for justifying a large project of developing the complete curriculum. The FE exam is one of the tools used by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) to begin the registration process for the professional engineering license. The exam is also used in assessing engineering education for Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) which is responsible for the accreditation of educational programs in engineering, engineering technology and engineering-related fields. The exam is used as the first step in the professional licensing of engineers and was developed to measure minimum technical competence. The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) generates, conducts and scores the examination (Walter, et al., 1999). It is taken by approximately 50,000 people a year, with most of them being students in their senior year or recent college graduates. The Fundamentals of Engineering examination is administered twice a year in April and October. The exam is the only national exam that addresses specific engineering topics, which makes it an attractive tool for assessment. The exam is divided into a morning four-hour session and an afternoon four-hour session. There are 120 questions to be answered in the morning section and 60 questions in the afternoon section (Potter, 1998 and Donovan, 1997). The afternoon session is a discipline specific examination where five disciplines chemical, electrical, industrial, mechanical and civil are covered. A general exam is also included for those students who do not fall in the five categories (Potter, 1998 and Donovan, 1997). Most topics in the afternoon exam cover the third and fourth year of the engineering curriculum in that specific discipline.
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Although the FE exam has numerous advantages, its widespread use as an assessment tool is to be viewed with caution. It can neither be used to determine the curricular content of any program nor does it intend to force programs to be similar. Also passing the exam does not ensure competence in all the subjects but just shows an average competency in several subject areas.
1.2 THE FE PROJECT
In the spring of 1998, a project was initiated at the University of Oklahoma’s Engineering Media Lab to take advantage of the Internet and new multimedia technologies to help students (and others) to prepare for the Fundamentals of Engineering examination that is required of all students and practicing engineers to obtain the professional engineer’s certification. The initial phase of the project was concerned with developing web-based review system for only the general morning exam session. It was completed by a group of Research Assistants at the Engineering Media Lab. This thesis deals with the second phase of the project, which covers the afternoon session for industrial engineering.
1.3 OUTLINE FOR INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING (IE) FE EXAM AND ITS BENEFITS
After conversing with numerous students in the school of industrial engineering it was concluded that most of them conduct their reviews using textbooks, Industrial
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engineering handbooks, or FE review manuals. The cost of these handbooks and review material is expensive and a student might find it costly to replace his or her existing textbooks. It might be possible for students to review their basic theory after studying these books but it is also important to practice taking tests. This is due to the fact that the FE exam given every year has different questions although the format of the questions remains the same. The major disadvantage with the textbook based structure is that once the students take the exam from the book they are not left with any other exams for practice. The FE project was initiated considering all the above factors. The test case for the Industrial engineering afternoon session is not only aimed at providing a complete review for the FE test but also a foundation for creating an Internet-based Industrial engineering curriculum. The School of Industrial Engineering at the University of Oklahoma has made it mandatory for all the undergraduate students to take the FE exam before they graduate. Undergraduate students are already overloaded in their final semester due to their senior design project and there is a rush to take additional hours needed to graduate. An Internet-based review would be useful for all undergraduate students since this would allow them to access the information at anytime regardless of their schedules. The graduate students in Industrial engineering, who have completed their undergraduate work at universities that do not require the FE, or have received their degree outside the United States, may also have a need to take the FE exam. Furthermore, working graduates may find that a professional engineer’s certification could help them in their work positions. These working engineers need convenient access to review information but yet it is not possible for them to return back to school or visit the University libraries
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for the current literature. An internet-based FE review with up-to-date content will not only help the current students but also help working engineers by allowing them access to a comprehensive review process that fits their schedules.
1.4 OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH
One of the main objectives this research was to develop a web-based application which students and practicing engineers would be able to use for preparing for the FE exam via the Internet. The research is also oriented towards enhancing the efficiency of teaching and reviewing engineering by utilizing the advance multimedia and Internet technology. To make the online review more interesting and exciting, interactive multimedia, which makes use of animation, three dimensional graphics, simulation, virtual reality and sound in presenting engineering concepts, is utilized. Considering the need of taking practice tests, an online exam system, which randomly generates problems, grades the exam and provides exam storage and retrieval was developed to help overcome limited questions in textbooks. To facilitate an efficient way of communication among the students and between the students and instructor a web based message conferencing tool has been integrated in the online review. It allows students and instructor to communicate even after office hours. The completion of this thesis has helped to build a complete review system for the IE section of the FE examination which is available for free. The system is also flexible since it is available on the Internet. The practice exam developed for IE section is also one of the accomplishments of this thesis.
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The following chapter presents the literature review that was carried out to determine the currents trends in online education. It also presents some key concepts used in online education. Several examples of ongoing research and projects for the FE examination as well as distance learning are mentioned and compared with the online system. The impact of Internet on education is also discussed. Chapter 3 describes the organization and layout of the online review site. It also presents the fashion in which the review material is presented to the user at the website in the form of the Basics, Examples, and Problems sections. The two versions of the navigation systems used in the review site are discussed. The elements of multimedia technology used for each of the sections such as movie animations, audio narration, graphics, images, and interactive simulations are also covered in this chapter. Chapter 4 explicates the organization and functioning of the online exam generation system. Chapter 5 illustrates all the pertinent text, equations, graphics, animation and simulation software, used in the online review site. The method in which the software was employed to develop the content and the multimedia elements are also covered. In Chapter 6, the testing and evaluation conducted with a survey group of students regarding the usefulness of the project is described. Finally, Chapter 7 presents the conclusion, and recommendations for further improvements and future use of the online review system.
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CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 TRENDS IN EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES
Rapid technological development has led to new innovations in computer software thus providing convenient user access and powerful features that can create an interactive learning environment. The following section elaborates on the different types of existing and emerging technologies and their implications on the education sector. The technologies
are
grouped
into
audio-visual
media,
computer-based
media,
telecommunications based media and advanced interactive technologies such as multimedia. Audio technologies have been one of the simplest interactive distance learning technologies. One of the most appealing benefits of audio-conferencing is its cost effectiveness. Although audio-conferencing is cost effective there are some apprehensions among instructors and students regarding the lack of a visual channel for communication. Audio-conferencing can be combined with the data capabilities of a computer resulting in a distance learning application called audio-graphics. The University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign has been using an audio-graphic system from the past 25 years known as Visual Teleconference System (VTS). The VTS connects geographically dispersed students and faculty for graduate as well as undergraduate courses. Audio-graphic systems such as VTS allow course material to be organized and presented in different ways. Instructors who have used the system are enthusiastic about
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its ability to deliver the resources of the university to students who might otherwise be denied access to educational opportunities (Chute, et al., 1999). One of the main limitations of using audio-graphic systems is the cost of the equipment, which can exceed $50,000 (Chute, et al., 1999). Audiovisual media consisting of instructor presentation and demonstration is the most universally applied method of training, which is used in 91 percent of companies. Videotapes, printed manuals and workbooks are used in 80 percent of companies while 30 percent still use slides and overhead projectors (Industry report, 1996). The NAPA Institute of Automotive Technology (NIAT) offers video based twelve independent courses, which have been taken by over 30,000 students. NAPA incurred a cost of approximately $80,000 to develop each course and they now sell at a price of $89.50 each (Weber, 1997). Although audio-visual technologies are one of the popular methods of distance learning the major drawback in using them is that they offer only a one-way presentation of training materials. An alternative option of interactive learning using audio-visual technologies is the use of video teleconferencing in the form of Interactive Compressed Video (ICV). With the parallel growth in telecommunication networks, facilities such as video conferencing allow real time interaction between participants who are geographically dispersed. Savings in traveling costs justify the cost of such facilities. Numerous universities such as Boston University, Penn State, University of Oklahoma, MIT, Columbia and Stanford conduct semester long courses for graduate and undergraduate students use ICV. ICV supports interaction among the students as well as between students and instructors. This allows students to seek immediate clarifications on different topics, a feature lacking in videotapes and one-way
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satellite broadcasts. One of the shortcomings of ICV’s is that it requires the presence of the instructor when the lectures are conducted. Computer-based learning is a training delivery mode in which a computer is used as a tool to deliver and manage training. It is estimated that ‘traditional’ computer-based training accounts for 7 percent of all the training time, with ‘interactive/multimedia’ training adding about 4 percent (Bassi, et al., 1996). The use of computer-based media training is increasing as more and more of the shelf courseware become available and has attractive multimedia features. Computer-based training (CBT) provides practice tutorials and simulations to the students. Students read the information on the screen and interact with the content and thus control the pace of instruction. The computer controls the sequence of steps followed and automates the routine data tracking and information processing tasks such as registering, testing and keeping student records. The limiting factor in computer-based training is the non-availability of quality CBT programs and its inability to disseminate information to a widely dispersed audience quickly in the absence of the Internet. The development that has been the most interesting is the steep rise in the use of World Wide Web (WWW) and intranets for delivery of training and information (Flipizack,1996). About 2 percent of all training time was spent in web-based training (Bassi, et al.,1996). The Internet offers a basis for creation of flexible learning environments that meet the educational and training needs of different organizations. Interactive multimedia is now gaining a strong foothold in corporate as well as university environments. Organizations are beginning to incorporate more multimedia courseware into their training programs as compatibility improves, thus increasing the
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supply of less expensive, off the shelf materials. Multimedia CD-ROM products are commonly found in media centers and libraries in the form of reference databases. There is still relatively little application of multimedia and hypermedia (hypertext combined with graphics) for core instruction. The advantages of using multimedia CD-ROM products are that they are portable, easier to integrate into the workflow and can store large volumes of information. The downside of multimedia CD-ROM products is that they are difficult to update and are dependant on the availability of CD-ROM drives. After considering the above stated alternatives for imparting distance education one arrives to a conclusion that an instruction medium, which would eliminate the drawbacks of the above technologies and at the same time combine their advantages would be Internet-based, interactive education developed using multimedia. Multimedia is a powerful tool that increases the instructor’s power of communication within a learning environment to convey a message more effectively (Stammen, 1995). Multimedia is an innovative way to share information and motivate learning (Stammen, 1995). Its definition has evolved from an assortment of connected audiovisual tools to the way computers are used to present and combine text, audio and video (Stammen, 1995). Multimedia constitutes the use of one or all of the following items for distance learning: 1. A mix of audio-visual tools connected to an interactive video 2. The retrieval of presentations containing a mix of text, graphics, audio, animation and video via on-line computer mediated communication. 3. A computerized multimedia system used with telecommunication technologies. (Stammen, 1995)
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The above mentioned constituents of multimedia have been extensively used in developing the online review system which is a combination of sound, color, graphics, animation, excerpts from movies, traditional text display and active participation by the user. In multimedia programs the user has the control over the path of learning and the feedback and involvement given by the program further motivates them. Multimedia learning environments are flexible easy to use and are more engaging and thus learners spend more time learning (Emerson and Mosteller, 1998). Internet-based multimedia programs present information in the form of multiple links rather than a linear fashion. The interaction with the learning material provides increased information retention and thus reduces learning time (Emerson and Mosteller, 1998). Internet-based programs are developed using hypertext and hypermedia, which is a non-linear way of presenting information that allows users to access, related documents from a single computer screen. Hypertext documents are linked to other textual documents stored in computer files. These documents have word(s) that are highlighted so they can be selected to access additional information about them on subsequent pages (Stammen, 1995). Hypermedia is an extension of hypertext files because they can also provide graphic pictures, images and audio clips.
2.2 DISTANCE EDUCATION
Distance education is an academic discipline dedicated to an organized system of transferring purposive educational information and materials to a receiving individual and or a group for a planned educational experience or result; though a medium other than the
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conventional face-to-face classroom relationship (Stammen, 1995). There may or may not be two-way communication, and the recipients will not be under the continuos immediate direction of the teacher. Progress of the learning individual(s) may or may not be monitored depending on the existence of any contractual arrangements (Stammen, 1995). Distance learning is a broad term encompassing technology that extends the learning community beyond the classroom walls and refers to the actual learning processes that goes on in the distance education environment. It is the learning that results from instruction that enables learners who are physically separated from the instructor, and possibly with other learners through a range of technologies. (Stammen, 1995)
2.3 INTERACTIVE LEARNING
Interactive learning forms one of the most important constituent of distance education and learning. If distance education does not involve interactive learning it would fail to arouse the interest of the user and thus demotivate the user to learn further. Interactive learning is a necessary and fundamental mechanism for knowledge acquisition and the development of both cognitive and physical skills. Interaction and interactivity are fundamental to all dynamic systems, particularly those involving people (Jong and Sarti, 1993). While designing a system for interactive learning the designer must focus on the underlying motivational characteristics of the learners involved and how to create the appropriate learning environment to enable the learners fulfil their learning objectives. If a human computer interaction system contains computational processes such as well-
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designed calculations, simulations, and animations then it can be used to initiate and stimulate cognition, thinking, creativity and learning (Jong and Sarti, 1993). The ideal situation for learning is having a 1:1 human-to-human ratio. This case is very expensive and time consuming and thus it is very difficult to implement. Generally in universities this turns out to be a 1:N ratio (N may range from 7 to 50) and thus looses its effectiveness and the main intention as depicted in the Fig 2.1.
A particular subject Learn about
Has knowledge about
Instructional
Teacher
Students
Interactive dialogue
(1)
(N)
Figure 2.1 A human – human interaction system A Has information on
Computer system (1)
particular
subject
and possibly more Learns about
Instructional Interactive communication
Student (1)
Figure 2.2 A human computer interaction system
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In the past decade the cost of computers has fallen and their use and availability is now widespread. With the increasing use of laptop programs in universities most of the students have their own laptops or personal computers, which are capable of delivering interactive multimedia learning programs. Figure 2.2 depicts the computer-based learning system. Such kind of human computer systems can be extremely useful if the software is well designed and is adaptable to individual needs. With the popularity of the Internet these systems would thus remove geographical barriers. The Fundamentals of Engineering exam review is an appropriate program for applying computer assisted distance learning since preparing for the exam deals primarily with cognitive subject matter. Preparing for the exam does not require any hands-on practice with any special equipment. Also the topics to be studied for the exam are already known to the students since they form a part of the courses, which they have taken earlier. Thus a full time instructor may not be required for teaching the students. Thus computer-based distance learning provides an efficient and best alternative for preparing for the FE exam.
2.4 THE WORLD WIDE WEB
The World Wide Web (WWW) is a facet of the Internet consisting of client and server computers that store multimedia documents (Chute, et al., 1999). It was a project that began at the Conseil Europeen pour la Recherdie Nucleaire (CERN), the European particle physics laboratory. The WWW uses a client server model with information hosted on networked servers accessed by personal computer clients. The client computers
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use software packages called browsers to view multimedia documents, and the server computers use server software to maintain the documents for clients to access.
2.5 THE INTERNET AND ITS IMPACT ON EDUCATION
The Internet is a worldwide communications system, which is also referred to as the ‘network of networks’ since it connects innumerable computer networks over the world. The backbone of Internet consists of lines that transmit data at extremely high speeds. It was developed by the federal government in 1960 and was further updated by the National Science Foundation in 1980. For its first 25 years, mainly universities, nonprofit organizations and government agencies inhabited the Internet (until 1990 called as the ARPANET) (McArthur and Lewis, 1998). The most commonly used services of Internet include electronic mail, file transfer protocol, bulletin board system and World Wide Web (Mayfield and Ali, 1996). Internet provides the foundation for an enterprise information infrastructure to share information both inside and outside the organization (Mills, 1999). This has set in the stage for a revolution in the way education can be imparted. Internet is also being used as a pedagogical tool in an educational setting. Over the past few years there has been an increasing cognizance among people to use Internet as an educational media. Internet has been touted as a technology that can revitalize education. Global access to people, data, software, documents, audio and video clips has now allowed Engineers to shorten the development cycle from design to serve the customer. Internet has improved
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the competitiveness of many organizations by making available the best application tools, knowledge bases, product information and training materials. Compared with larger traditional publishing firms, small, grassroots publishers on the web appear to be more flexible providers of new digital courseware helping education to meet the rising need for ‘just-in-time’ or ‘on-demand’ learning just as information technology already helps manufacturing and service industries dramatically shorten production cycles (McArthur and Lewis, 1998). Although bandwidth remains one of the problems in web-based communication, universities and students who have access to generous Internet capacity still need quality web products for learning. Web-based courses can include a wealth of material about the class such as lectures, exams, assignments and reference to relevant on-line literature all accessible at the click of a mouse on a hypertext link (McArthur and Lewis, 1998). Each of these courses can be constructed as multimedia documents, including pictures, digitized audio versions of lectures, animations and simulations that can be run to give a much more dynamic impression of processes and structures. Web-based distance learning courses can mix the graphics and video of instructional TV with an intimate style of interactive mentoring than other communication media. Thus with richer multimedia and web based courseware, classes for which computers once replaced only a modest amount of labor can be taught extensively through technology. Internet-based distance learning enables an instructor to take a much more learner centered approach. Instead of delivering lectures and assuming or hoping that the same lecture will address the needs of a diverse group in the classroom, instructors can focus and deliver the content that is most relevant to individual students. Thus the instructor becomes a synthesizer of information
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who can create unique learning experiences tailored to the individual needs of students. Students with unique needs stemming from their business environment may not be able to find the expertise they need locally. With web-based learning they will have access to world-class subject matter experts who can help them fulfill their educational objectives. Clearly, the Internet is going to be a vital part of education in the near future. This is perceptible with the phenomenal increase in the distance learning educational programs and courses offered on the Internet by numerous institutions such as the University of Oklahoma, Stanford University and Penn State. Internet education and distance learning have become academic buzzwords in the new millennium. The University of WisconsinExtension’s Distance Education Clearing-house lists numerous institutions offering online instruction. Traditional institutions such as Penn State and Indiana University are offering on-line degree programs along with non-traditional ones such as University Online and Global Network Academy. Also at the University of Wisconsin, rehabilitation therapists learn about adaptive computer technology through videotapes and an Internet class discussion group (Kerka, 1996). At the Carnegie-Mellon University, the virtual corporation simulates a work setting for business students. A career counselor offers group and individual on-line conferences, a listserv, and a database of resumes and resources for clients (Sherman, 1994). This concept of delivering education or training courses through extensive use of computer technologies to off-campus locations has been around since the 70's. Regents College, America's First Virtual University, based in Albany, New York, began offering non-traditional degree programs based on assessments at a distance since 1972 (Atkins, 1999). The Regents College now offers 30 undergraduate degree programs in nursing, liberal arts, business and technology,
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including a master's degree program in liberal studies. There are currently 17,000 students enrolled in the various distance-learning courses offered by Regents College (Atkins, 1999). Different organizations such as Blackboard.com, eCollege.com provide the technology and services that enable colleges and universities to offer online environments for distance and on-campus learning. Recently Click2learn.com, a provider of e-Learning solutions to businesses, government and educational institutions has partnered with B2BXchange, an Internet service provider to develop a new Online University known as B2BXchange University. This University would provide subscribers access to numerous online courses, CD-ROM’s and books (www.asymmetrix.com). Unext.com, an Internet education company has formed an academic alliance with Columbia University, University of Chicago, Stanford University and the London School of Economics and Political Science to develop a world-class business education curriculum to be delivered over the Internet (www.cardean.com). Thus we can observe that in the recent past numerous organizations as well as Universities have adopted Internet-based education as a medium of instruction for the students. Filipczak (1996) notes that distance learning on the Internet can be cheaper, faster and usually more efficient than other learning modes, but not necessarily more effective. As Dede (1996) puts it “Access to data does not automatically expand students knowledge; the availability of information does not intrinsically create an internal framework of ideas. To help learners make effective use of distance learning methods, skilled facilitation is essential (Kerka, 1996). The characteristics required of distance learners also differ from those required of learners in traditional classrooms (Imel, 1999). Compared to most face-to-face learning environments distance learning requires students
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to be more focussed and better time managers and to be able to work both independently and as group members (Hardy and Boaz, 1997). Concerns have been expressed that instruction via the Internet and Web may do a little more than replicate traditional computer-based training systems based on behaviorist learning theories (Farquhar, et al., 1996; Imel 1997). In reality, however, one of the themes appearing in the literature on distance learning is the potential of current technologies to change the teaching learning transaction (Imel 1996). Web environments can be designed to be highly interactive; to require the completion of meaningful and authentic tasks; and to encourage reflection, collaboration, and multiple practice, all characteristics of constructivist learning theory (Farquhar etal 1996).
2.6 STRENGTHS, WEEKNESS, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS (SWOT) ANALYSIS OF INTERNET-BASED LEARNING
One needs to carefully analyze the Internet to decide whether it will be a suitable tool for delivering education. This analysis would depend on the courses the instructor wants to offer, the students who would take these courses and the technology available with the instructor along with implementers of the technology. Considering these factors Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis is presented in the Table 2.1. SWOT analysis is one of the most effective tools used in a business or an educational environment to improve the existing services or propose new services. SWOT analysis is used in the preliminary stages of decision-making and as a precursor to strategic planning in various applications. The process of utilizing a SWOT analysis
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requires an internal survey of the strengths and weaknesses of the program being analyzed and an external survey of threats and opportunities
Strengths Internet increases the exposure for offering a course. Course material has already been instructionally designed. Industries are moving to Internet-based course offerings Eliminates geographical barriers Handles structured assessment tasks Internet has the ability to update course materials Internet is capable of incorporating multimedia Opportunities Once the course is designed and available on the Internet it would allow instructors to focus more time on research and 1:1 correspondence with students. Would open more enrollment opportunities Universities/Instructors could be recognized as education and training leaders if best practices are followed Reuse of existing materials would thus save cost and time and manpower resources. (www.cardean.com) Universities can undertake e-education projects from industries and thus bring in more research funds and increase quality of learning (www.blackboard.com)
Weaknesses Bandwidth, availability of Internet connections and their cost might be a concern. Course material may be instructionally designed but not designed for the Internet Instructors may be reluctant to use new technology (McArthur, 1998) There is a lack of an Internet standard (de facto standards might exist) Lack of defined auditing Extensive technical capabilities / personnel may not be available to create a fair assessment environment. (McArthur, 1998) Potentially Internet allows only screen based information If the course is not made interactive students might loose interest Threats Instructor might be branded as just a provider of course material and not a teacher. Students might not accept the idea of not being taught in person If courses are not implemented carefully and appropriately universities/instructors might loose their credibility. Site should be able to handle the demand on computer capacity required to store videos, images etc Instructors might loose their focus of creating courseware for students.
Table 2.1 SWOT analysis of Internet-based learning
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The above SWOT analysis helped to determine that it is not just the technology but it is the content and the needs of the learners that are driving the use of Internet for education. It also helped in providing an overall picture of the Internet and provided a foresight on how Internet would be best utilized for developing an online review site for the FE exam. Indeed the FE exam is one of the cases where the mode of delivery of instruction is driven by the needs of the learners as well as its curriculum. Students who prepare for the FE exam need maximum flexibility and self paced instruction, which as inferred from the table is offered by the Internet. Therefore one can justify the use of Internet for developing a courseware for the FE examination.
2.7 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES ON WWW
The World Wide Web (WWW) though originally designed to be used for defense and research purposes is now being more widely used as a medium for conducting ebusiness and e-education. This rapid deployment of the Web as a communicating medium for varied and important projects has created a necessity for different programming languages as per the needs of different businesses. Among the most prevalent languages are Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Common gateway Interface with Practical Extraction and Report Language (CGI/PERL), Active Server Pages (ASP), Virtual Reality and Modeling Language (VRML), Java and JavaScript. HTML is the most popular language used for building and publishing documents on the Web. It is a document layout and hyperlink specification language. It tells the browser how to display the contents of the document such as text, graphics and other
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materials. HTML also specifies how to make a document interactive through hypertext links, which connect one document with another. A web-developer can either use a text editor or visual HTML editors such as Macromedia Dreamweaver, Symantec Visual Page or Microsoft Front Page to create HTML documents. The World Wide Web consortium (W3C) defines the standards of HTML. W3C is a part of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), which is responsible for managing all the aspects of Internet technology (Musiciano and Kennedy, 1998). The functionality of HTML pages and web servers can be extended by the means of Common Gateway Interface (CGI) which enables the contents of a page to be generated dynamically by a program typically written in a scripting language known as Practical Extraction and Reporting Language (PERL). HTML, as stated above is used to create various documents or forms to be published on web. When a user fills the required information in the form that information needs to be sent to the server along with the name of the program needed to process it. The program that processes the form information is called as a CGI program, which is a protocol or a standard procedure. CGI programming is generally used to write programs that receive and translate data through the web browser to the web server. PERL scripts, which follow the CGI protocol, are called as the CGI PERL scripts. PERL is designed to assist the programmer with tasks, which are too ponderous for a shell to execute and too complicated to code in a C or Unix language. Larry Wall created PERL when he was trying to produce some reports for a Usenet bug reporting system using awk. PERL is available free and is distributed under a GNU public license. It is a cross platform language, which runs on Windows NT as well as Unix (Schwartz and Christiansen, 1997). PERL is particularly suited for web related
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tasks where HTML creates the links and forms that activate the PERL scripts in the server. All the PERL programs are server-based programs, which obtain input data from the client, execute the program and perform calculations on the server and return the output back to the client. One of the problems in CGI programming is that whenever a CGI program generates a request it causes a new process to be spawned, and after the request has been handled, the process is killed. For a site having a high volume of traffic, the repetition of process creations imposes an excess overhead on the system’s resources. To overcome some of the problems stated above a new technology known as Active Server Pages (ASP) was developed. ASP is a server-based technology developed by Microsoft, used to create interactive HTML pages for a World Wide Web site or corporate Intranets. ASP is a file with a “.asp” suffix that contains a combination of HTML statements and script logic. When the Internet Information Server (IIS) receives a request for an ASP file, the final HTML response is generated dynamically from the static HTML statements and the insertion of any HTML generated by the script. Thus ASP uses server-side scripting to dynamically create HTML responses. ASP can also be used to interface with database applications (Francis, et al., 1998). Along with textual and graphic information it is also required to view threedimensional graphics on the Internet for educational as well as corporate purposes. VRML is used to create three-dimensional virtual worlds on the Internet. It has the ability to build dynamic worlds having sensory virtual environments that can cause animations, play sounds and allow users to interact. VRML also enables the user to surf a threedimensional web through a virtual body, which renders better graphics visualization and
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aggrandizes human interaction (Ames, et al.,1997). To view the VRML worlds a VRML browser available in the form of a plug-in needs to be configured for the HTML web browser. Another programming language used to build interactivity in static web pages is known as JavaScript. JavaScript was developed by Netscape and was called as LiveScript until December 1995 when Sun and Netscape jointly announced that the language would be called as JavaScript. JavaScript is a cross platform language, which is written as a part of HTML document and thus converts a static web page into a dynamic and fully interactive web-page with a real time response (Goodman, 1998). JavaScript is usually used for building mathematical interactive tools on the web page. The browser software interprets the JavaScript commands and statements from the text files in the same way as it interprets HTML tags. A competitive product developed by Microsoft is known as VBScript. A more complicated language than JavaScript used to develop complex programs on the Internet is known as Java. Java is an object oriented programming language which was developed at Sun Microsystems in 1991. Java applets are programs, which are downloaded from the World Wide Web by a web browser and run inside an HTML web page. A Java development environment such as Sun’s JDK, which consists of tools form compiling and testing Java applets and applications is required for programming in Java. Java is also a platform independent language, which allows graphical user interface display on the Web (Lemay and Perkins, 1997).
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2.8 CURRENT METHODS OF REVIEW FOR THE FE EXAM
The following section presents an overview of the different methods currently being used for preparing for the FE exam. There are currently numerous universitysponsored online sites related to the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) and Professional Engineering (PE) exams. These sites help students to register for review sessions and provide general preparation guidelines for the exams. The concept of reviewing for the FE and PE exam using web-based, audio or video presentation media is currently being carried out by several educational organizations. For example, University of Maryland, Pennsylvania State University, Northwestern University, the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (http://www.asme.org/pro_dev), and Professional Publications Inc., are offering review material in the form of videotapes. This method of preparation for the FE and PE exams include a set of several videotaped lectures, allowing users to review the material at their own convenience in their home. The cost of a video review course offered by the University of Maryland is $595 and it is available only for the morning session of the FE exam (http://www.udel.edu/engg/outreach/FE_video.html). The cost of the videotaped review lectures offered by Pennsylvania State University, Northwestern University, the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME), and Professional Publications Inc., ranges between $350 to $600. The NCEES also offers a complete FE reference handbook online at (http://www3.ncees.org/femenu.htm). This site allows users to download all the relevant references to each section in the FE exam. The online reference comes in the form of an Acrobat PDF file format. The web-based review developed by ASME is only for Mechanical Engineers and costs $89. The ASME review
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package mainly uses hypertext to present material and therefore is less intuitive and interactive for the user. Figure 2.3 shows the snapshot of the ASME package.
Figure 2.3 A Snapshot of the ASME review site.
Most individuals conduct their reviews using textbooks that they used in school, encyclopedia like Industrial Engineering handbooks, or FE review manuals. The cost of these handbooks and review material is high and a student might find it costly to replace his or her existing textbooks. Also the FE exam given every year has different questions although the format of the questions remains the same. The major disadvantage with the textbook based structure is that once the students take the exam from the book they are
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not left with any other exams for practice. Typically, these books cost between $50 to $80. The classroom courses offered by the universities are conducted over a span of 6 to 8 weeks. They are generally held in the evenings or as a part of the senior design project course. They are classroom oriented review sessions often conducted by a Professional Engineer. The sessions are divided into 3 to 4 different sections starting with lectures for review of the theory, then examples and problems and finally practice tests and question answer sessions. The review literature used in these sessions is the FE and PE exam review textbooks and manuals from Great Lakes Press, Professional Publications Inc., and Engineering Press. The classroom sessions are generally conducted for a period of 2 to 3 hours and attendance is compulsory. Thus it makes difficult and inconvenient for students and working professionals to attend them. Since the classroom sessions refer mainly to review books, learners are subjected to the monotony of reading through them, which may fail to arouse their interest. The prices of the classroomoriented review sessions held by many established higher education institutions such as Arizona State University, University of Houston, Georgia Tech, Worchester Polytechnic Institute, and University of Wisconsin Milwaukee ranges between $250 to $450 (Ng and Gramoll, 1999). If the sessions are held in conjunction with the senior design class as it is done at the University of Oklahoma then the students might not have to pay for them. These review sessions are generally held between two to four months before the actual exam. The FE online review site, developed as a part of this work, addresses most of the shortcomings of the current review methods stated above. The online review site is freely
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available on the web and students are not required to pay to use the online review site. Since it is available on the web students can log on to the site at any time that is convenient and review the material according to their schedule. This offers them a large amount of flexibility and allows them to learn and review at their own pace. The online review site also provides a web bulletin board where students can post their questions and views on different topics. The instructor can then post the answers for the questions on the web board, making them available to all the students. Thus the need of attending an actual classroom review session is reduced. As compared to the other web based programs available the online review is much more interactive and appealing to the user and thus stimulates the users interest to learn and review the material. The online random generated exam simulating the actual exam provides random questions, which is not provided in any of the books or the classroom sessions. Every time the student takes the exam different questions with different values are generated. The online exam also offers the capability of viewing earlier tests. Thus students can take the online exam and practice test taking and determine their performance and evaluate themselves over a period of time.
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CHAPTER 3 ONLINE REVIEW SITE
This chapter focuses on the layout, organization and description of the online review site. The pre-project survey conducted to determine the feasibility of the system is presented. The method in which the topics were divided and presented, as well as the navigation options provided in the review site is also explained in detail. The site organization into the Basics, Examples and Problems sections is depicted. Furthermore the various multimedia elements used, such as movie animations, graphics, equations, interactive simulations, and 3-D VRML models are also described in detail.
3.1 PRE-PROJECT SURVEY
A pre-project survey was conducted to evaluate whether an Internet-based review system would be effective. The questions asked and a compilation of the responses obtained from 10 students is presented in Table 3.1. The ten students who were surveyed were either in their senior year or Master’s program in Industrial Engineering. The sample size of students is small but this is attributed to the fact that there are only 8 students in the Industrial Engineering senior design class. Though the responses are subjective and do not provide a truly quantitative indication they do provide useful insight for determining the feasibility of the project. One of the questions was to determine whether it was important to have an on-line review system, 60% of the student’s responded stating that it was important and 40% suggested it was very
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important. Another question was to determine if user interactivity was required and 70% of the students suggested it was very important. All the students responded that it was necessary to have help sessions along with the electronic media and a reference textbook for preparing for the exam. After observing columns 4 and 5 in table 3.1 it was concluded that developing an online review site for the FE exam would be a feasible project.
1 Importance of Online FE Exam
2 3 4 Responses received (%) 60
5 40
Importance the following items would have on an on-line review Simulations
20 30 50 Textual Content 10 20 50 20 Equations 10 60 30 Animations 20 30 50 Sound 30 40 30 Graphics 10 30 60 User Interactivity 10 10 10 70 On-line timed testing 20 30 50 Ability to view old tests 20 20 60 Randomly generated questions simulating an actual exam 30 70 Ease of navigation system 10 20 70 Accuracy of content 10 30 60 Completeness of content 20 30 50 Depth of the content 20 40 40 Convenience of use 10 30 60 Ability to submit questions on-line 20 40 40 Chat room 10 40 30 20 News groups 20 40 30 10 Bulletin board 20 10 50 20 Access to experts (Professional Engr.) 20 30 50 Scores are based on the following: 1 - Not Important, 2 – Scarcely Important, 3 Moderately Important, 4 - Important, 5 – Very Important Ten students (seniors and masters) participated in the survey Table 3.1 Analysis of the pre-project survey 31
3.2 SITE LAYOUT
The complete undergraduate Industrial Engineering curriculum along with the currently available FE literature was taken into consideration while developing the topics for the afternoon exam. The NCEES engineering curriculum assessment as well as two Industrial Engineering Handbooks were also considered while finalizing the topic breakdown structure. The complete syllabus was then broken down into 21 different topics called modules. The modules cover different topics ranging from manufacturing, human factors, statistics and operations research. The main purpose of organizing the content in terms of modules was to enable the users to select and gain access to individual subtopics during the review process with relative ease. This concept of using modules can also be beneficial for the purpose of a quick reference.
3.3 NAVIGATION
The FE review program was designed and implemented for Internet access to allow wide use and access.
Students can access the review site for free from the
engineering media lab’s website at http://www.eml.ou.edu/fie. There are two links provided on the page, one can either use a Shockwave pull down menu or the HTML link (Fig 3.1). The Shockwave pull down menu is visually more appealing but takes more time to download the file and requires a Shockwave plugin. The HTML menu link, comprising only of text links, has essentially no download time (Fig 3.2). Once a menu
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option has been selected, the respective pull-down or text link menu will appear on the left-hand frame of the review site.
Figure 3.1 Shockwave Pull down menu option
All 12 engineering and science topics available in the AM section as well as the discipline-specific review list for the PM section are listed here. The material, which can be accessed by the user, remains the same irrespective of the choice of the menus.
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Figure 3.2 HTML Pull down menu option
Since the online review site makes use of several different multimedia plug-ins such as Shockwave, QuickTime, and Cosmo Player, there are three additional links at the main page to aid users in acquiring these plug-ins. These plug-ins are required so users can access the various multimedia elements efficiently and decorously. The links to the plug-ins are as shown in Fig 3.3.
Figure 3.3 Links for obtaining Plug-ins.
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Once the user selects the afternoon industrial review icon, he or she is lead to the main page of Industrial Engineering review, which is shown in Fig 3.4. Simultaneous presentation of the topics main page and the list of modules is made possible through the use of JavaScript. To allow users the amenity of navigating through the site in a sequential or nonlinear manner, the individual modules that make up the entire topic are listed in a menu located on the frame above the topic's introduction page.
Figure 3.4 Industrial Engineering Modules
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The user can now choose to view any particular module in the review session. The full list of modules as well as the morning exam review topics is available for the user to help in navigation to various areas of the site depending on his or her choice. Each module was then divided into three different sections: Basics, Examples and Problems. This was done to allow users to progress in a sequentially organized manner. Standardization has been one of the prime considerations while developing these modules. This has been specifically done so that once the students get accustomed with the structure of the first module in the review they need not spend time to get familiarized with the structure of the next module. The division of each module in the above mentioned fashion allows users to begin reviewing the theory in the Basics page, then move on to its applications in the Examples page and finally solve the six problems in the Problems page. The problems would help the user in testing his/her understanding of the module. The size limit for each page in a module has been set to 140 kilobytes to minimize the download time for users with modem speeds less then or equal to 56.6 KBPS. In addition, keeping with the same standards as that of the morning session, the modules are required to fit the screen width of 800 pixels so that most users would be able to view the modules without the need to scroll sideways. General guidelines, which were established during the development of the morning section to standardize the layout, style, and appearance of each individual Basics, Examples, and Problems page have been used in the Industrial Engineering Section. These guidelines were established to determine and fix the physical dimensions of each individual Basics, Examples, and Problems page. The standards used in the Industrial Engineering section for the dimensions of the graphics and images as well as
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their location within the module's pages are also the same as that of the morning section. Font groups and sizes, the appearance and physical dimensions of the multimedia elements used such as movie animations and interactive simulations are also as per the standard. The following sections describe the complete layout of the Basics, Examples and Problems sections and their components along with the main specifications as per the standard.
3.4 BASICS PAGE
The Basics page is the first section of the online review site. It is one of the important constituents of the online review site since it gives a complete overview of the basic concepts of a particular topic. The Basics section is divided into sub-topics, which explain different fundamental concepts in the main topic. The Basics page is structured so that the student finds all the relevant information and equations pertaining to that topic. Since this is a review site, the material covered in the Basics page is comprehensive. The users are expected to know the abbreviations for all the equations beforehand though in some places they might be mentioned. Although the material is comprehensive it is complete with respect to the required material for successfully answering the test questions. Furthermore the page also contains simulations, movie animations, audio narration’s, graphics, VRML models and interactive JavaScript applications. All these enhance the quality of information and help the user develop a dilettante interest in the subject.
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The Basics page is a HTML table set of three columns with numerous rows having dimensions 240, 10, and 320 pixels wide respectively. Instead of using different frames a table ahs been used since it allows better formatting and organization of the content. The graphics and images are positioned in the 240-pixels wide column, whereas the content of the theory and equations are situated in the column of 320-pixels wide and the middle column, 10-pixels wide, acts as a divider. The width of the table is maintained constant at 570 pixels while the height was set at "auto" to accommodate the content. To hide the appearance of the tables on the browser, the border thickness was reduced to zero. All module pages have a white background color to improve visual clarity. The individual multimedia elements of the Basics page are described in the following subsections. The Basics page for one of the modules, Computer Integrated Manufacturing, is shown in Fig 3.5.
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Figure 3.5 The Basics Page
3.4.1 GRAPHICS, IMAGES AND TABLES
Graphics and images were used extensively in each Basics page to assist the user in acquiring a better understanding on how the theory is applied in actual engineering practices and to increase his/her interest in the topic. The graphics are generally created using graphics software such as Adobe PhotoShop or Macromedia Flash.
Some
illustrations are obtained from copyright-free sources such as clip art databases. Sporadically, an Epson Photo PC digital camera and an Astra 600 S UMAX flatbed 39
scanner were employed to assist in obtaining some of the needed graphics and images and tables. An image editing software was then used to convert the graphics into a Graphics Interface Format (GIF) or a Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) image. Figure 3.6 shows processed images captured by the camera as well as taken from the web using the above software.
Figure 3.6 Graphics and image processing
Only these two formats are used because they give smaller file sizes as compared to the other available ones such as Bitmap and TIFF (Tag Image File Format). Some modules such as Statistics and Ergonomics necessitate the use of tables to acquire data for solving problems. Tables were scanned with the scanner and imported in the Omnipage character recognition software. They were then converted into MS Excel files and exported in HTML.
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3.4.2 MOVIE ANIMATIONS
The Flash shockwave movies included in the Basics page are aimed at providing a visual illustration to the user and thereby increasing the understanding capacity of the user. Module-specific movie animations were created using Macromedia's Flash and included into each module’s Basics page (Fig 3.7).
Figure 3.7 An animation created using Macromedia Flash
By rendering a graphical representation of the information presented in the text, users are able to bolster their understanding on the material. Vector-based drawings and
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graphics are defined mathematically contrary to raster graphics that are described by individual pixels and thus, have fixed dimensions. The vector-based feature in Flash allows movie animations and graphics to be resized without experiencing the pixelization effects intrinsic in pixel-based or raster drawing tools. The compression options within Flash allow file sizes to be kept at a minimum. By default, all movie animation windows are set to open at 320 x 240 pixels. All animations are accessed by clicking on its screencaptured image or a rectangular icon specifying what the animation would depict. (Fig 3.8) This image is linked to the animation through the use of JavaScript. Since the image is linked directly to the animation, the time required to download the Basics page is reduced as the movie is downloaded only when initiated by the user. Once the user clicks on the image, JavaScript initiates the movie animation and displays it in a separate window. Through the use of JavaScript, presentation of the Basics page and the movie animation can be carried out simultaneously, allowing the user to view the animation as well as read the relevant theory material in a neat and orderly manner. To promote user interaction, all movie animations are equipped with a play, stop, and rewind button. A timeline is also provided to indicate the actual length and status of the movie.
Figure 3.8 Icons for accessing the animations. 42
Flash's vector-based drawing characteristics have also been exploited in some modules where large amounts of information had to be displayed in a relatively small area. Topics such as Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Queuing theory, Material Requirements Planning have different charts, which provide additional information to the user. These charts and tables are developed using Flash's vector-drawing features, are exported using its Shockwave export facility and thus they can be resized without loss of quality and detail. Similar to the movie animations, these charts and diagrams are linked via JavaScript to their respective screen-captured images and can be conveniently accessed. As a standard measure all Shockwave files containing charts, graphs, or tables are set to open in a window size larger than 320 x 240 pixels. Figure 3.9 shows one such graphic depicting the Opitz system of classification in Computer aided manufacturing.
Figure 3.9 Opitz system of classification using Flash 43
3.4.3 USE OF JAVASCRIPT
The JavaScript applications are used in the Basics page to enhance user interactivity. With the help of JavaScript, real-time responses, rollover images, and calculations can be performed. JavaScript has been used to develop calculation tools in different modules such as Database Management, Engineering Economics and Computer aided manufacturing. These calculators can then be conveniently used for calculating equation parameters. They have been used to determine different values such as optimal lot sizes for production, block accesses in databases and future worth in economics. Figure 3.10 shows a JavaScript calculation tool used in the Engineering Economics Section These tools help the user to understand the formulae in a better way as they can run the applications with different values for the equation parameters as well check answers for the problems they have solved.
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Figure 3.10 A JavaScript Calculation Tool
3.2.4 USE OF VRML
To enhance 3D visualization of important concepts on the Basics page, VRML was used various such as Manufacturing Processes, Robotics and Flexible Manufacturing Systems and shows various robot motions, and a factory environment. One can zoom in and out of these models and view details of individual interest. One problem associated with VRML worlds is that the file size can be large. To minimize the file size, they are compressed in ‘gzip’ format so that the download time is reduced. The worlds are
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inserted in the Basics page using JavaScript and they open up in windows similar to the animations. Figure 3.11 shows a SCARA robot modeled using VRML.
Figure 3.11 A SCARA robot modeled using VRML
3.4.5 QUICKTIME MOVIES
Due to the current progress in network technology and streaming video over the Internet, it is now possible to broadcast actual engineering lectures over wireless 46
networks with reasonably good quality. Also, making the ordinary classroom available on the Internet in the form of video clips enables students to review the lectures at their own pace. In order to put video on the Internet, video-streaming technology is utilized. The usage of streaming techniques enables, a student to view a lecture while concurrently a new video is being transferred over the Internet. This means students can see the movie as soon as their browser has downloaded the first few seconds (depending on the buffering time) of the movie. One such lecture has been used in the module total quality management, which presents the ideas of a speaker on quality management, which may not be described in any book. Figure 3.12 shows the QuickTime processed picture of the speaker giving the lecture.
Figure 3.12 A Quick time streaming video on quality management
3.4.6 INTERACTIVE SIMULATIONS
Another multimedia constituent that was used in preparing this online review to promote and enhance user interactivity within the online review site is interactive simulations created using Macromedia Director. These simulations are tools by which the 47
user can visualize certain engineering phenomenon as described in the corresponding theory on the Basics page. Users can edit specified numerical parameters within the simulation, observe the effects and establish engineering relationships associated with the parameters. The simulations created in Macromedia director are also exported as Shockwave files. The Shockwave movie format reduces the file size of each simulation while optimizing the quality level. The simulations can be opened by clicking on their pictures and, the respective simulation will open up in a separate browser window through the use of JavaScript. Figure 3.13 shows one such simulation.
Figure 3.13 Simulation for designing a pressure vessel.
This setup of exporting movies as Shockwave files reduces the download time of the Basics page as the Shockwave movies are downloaded only when requested by the user. The main advantage of director simulations over animations is that they add user interactivity but are more complex to build as compared to Flash movies.
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3.4.7 TEXT AND EQUATIONS
The complete text within the Basics, Examples, and Problems page was developed using commercially available HTML authoring software such as Symantec Visual Page and Macromedia's Dreamweaver. Equations, which were not complicated, were also developed and edited using HTML. The Arial font group was used to stay consistent with the topics completed in the morning section. The Arial font group consists of three fonts types: Arial, Helvetica, and San Serif. These three font types are grouped together as they format text, which closely resembles each other in appearance. The advantage of using font groups is that if a browser that is used to display textual information does not support one of the fonts it will switch to the next available font type in the group. Such flexibility in font types increases the consistency in the appearance of textual information irrespective of the platforms and the browsers used. The font size for the texts varies according to their individual function. To ease user navigation, each Basics page contains links that directly take the user to the respective Examples page or the Problems page depending on his or her choice. These links are provided on the top right corner of the Basics page as shown in Fig 3.14.
Figure 3.14 Links to the examples and problems section 49
3.5 EXAMPLES PAGE
Once the student completes studying the Basics for a particular topic he or she can review typical example problems that are solved in the Examples page. The Examples page is the second section of each module. With the help of the examples solved on the page, users are able to observe the manner in which the theories and equations are applied to problem solving. This is done so that users can understand and recollect the applications of the theory and further strengthen their grasp on the relevant concepts. A user who is accustomed to the theory may choose to go to the examples section directly through the link provided on the Basics page. All the modules contain two solved examples, which are worked out in complete detail along with the required explanations. Each example is worked out using all the relevant concepts and equations described in the Basics page. All the solution steps pertaining to each example are clearly displayed to present users with a comprehensive understanding of how the theory is used. As and when required, alternative equations are used with the derivation steps clearly outlined and documented. Each example problem is accompanied with a corresponding diagram or an image to help the user understand the solution. To present the example problems in an organized method, the questions and solution steps are placed in the right hand column and the accompanying images and graphics are positioned in the left hand column. Again the middle column acts as a divider to provide a clear separation between the example problems and the graphics. All the solution steps are carefully planned and laid out as per specified formats in standard textbooks to present the clearest possible method for solving the example problems. The final answers for the solved problems are designated in red text color to make them obvious. Figure 3.15 shows the Examples page where two 50
examples have been solved in a step-by-step manner. One can also observe the graphics and tables corresponding to each question. The Examples page also provides links to go to either the Basics page or the Problems page on the top right corner. An additional link for tables is provided in some modules. This link takes the users to related tables, which are required for solving the problems.
Figure 3.15. Examples page
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3.6 PROBLEMS PAGE
The Problems page is the third section for each topic, which presents problems for the user to solve. It is the last component of each module. This section consists of six problems, which are meant to test the users grasp of the review module. Figures or pictures, which are either screen captured images of the problems or are closely linked to the topic of the problem represent the links to the problems. Problems can be accessed by clicking on these images. Figure 3.16 shows the Problems page.
Figure 3.16 The Problems page 52
When the user selects the picture JavaScript is initiated and the individual problem is displayed in a separate pop-up window. Figure 3.17 shows the pop-up window in which a problem is displayed.
Figure 3.17 Separate pop-up window for the problem
The problems were made in Macromedia's Flash and then exported as a Shockwave movie. All the problems are complemented with the relevant corresponding graphics and a list of four answers, which the users can select. These answers were created as button symbols, which would refer to different parts of the problem depending on the response of the user. A problem with a selected button is shown in Figure 3.18.
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Figure 3.18 Selection of a button by the user.
If the answer selected by the user is a correct answer then it displays the corresponding correct graphics or tables and shows a systematically solved solution for the problem. If the user selects a wrong answer, he or she is lead to a screen, which provides a "Back" button to allow the user to return to the main problem page and start all over again. All correct answers are displayed with the corresponding graphics and a logical solution leading to the correct answer. Figure 3.19 shows the status of the problem when a correct answer is selected. In spite of the fact that there are six questions in each Problems page, the time required to download them is not large since JavaScript downloads the individual
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questions separately only when the user initiates it. The pop-up window is set at 560 x 360 pixels and can be resized by the user without loss of visual quality due to Flash's vector-based graphics capability.
Figure 3.19 The status of a problem when a correct answer is selected
The Problems page is a 7 x 3 HTML table with a constrained width of 160 pixels for each column. The graphics and images representing the problems are arranged in the cells of two rows and the problem number designation of each individual problem is placed in the row directly underneath the graphics.
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CHAPTER 4 ON-LINE EXAM GENERATION SYSTEM
4.1 INTRODUCTION
One of the more important aspects of preparing for an examination is to practice taking tests. Books and other review material offer tests but they can be taken only once. To solve this deficiency an online exam generation system was developed. The exam generation system generates random questions from a database of questions. The values of the different variables in the problems are also generated randomly each time the test is taken by the user. This offers a unique advantage to the user to practice different exams. Also the system has the capability to maintain the previous exams for a particular user and thus the user can go back and check the mistakes committed in the previous exams before taking a new one. The system does not require any additional material in the form of textbooks or CD-ROM’s and runs independently on the Internet.
4.2. METHODOLOGY FOR PROBLEM GENERATION
The first step in developing the questions for the online exam was to create problems similar to those appearing in the actual exam. The problems were formulated in such a way that the answers would be in multiple-choice format. To develop these problems different FE handbooks and Industrial Engineering literature was referenced. Graphics related to the problems were developed so that the problems could be clearly
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understood by the students. The questions were created using Flash in the same way the problems in the Problems page were created. In this case though the Flash files were not exported as Shockwave flash files but as Shockwave template files. To enable Flash to export files as templates a program called Macromedia Generator was utilized. When these problems were developed in Flash, the values for the different parameters were defined as variables. These variables would then display randomly generated values designated by a PERL program. The questions also depict relevant figures and diagrams pertaining to the text of the question. Once these templates were created they were stored in a database on the server. CGI scripts on the web server with PERL programming language do the actual exam generation. The PERL program specifies the random values and the range of the different variables in the questions. It generates different values each time the user accesses the test site. The Flash Generator program on the server imports this data and puts this information into problem templates. To display the Flash Generator templates, they need to be placed in a standard HTML web page. All Web pages require HTML code so that the browser can render the Web page. The online exam system uses PERL and JavaScript to generate the basic web page for problems. The top portion of the exam web page has problem navigation buttons, which allow the user to move to jump between the different pages, each containing five problems. The exam web page with the 80 problems takes from 20 to 50 seconds to load depending on the network connection. However, because the system uses vector-based graphics and streaming technology, the first 5 to 10 problems can be viewed while the rest of the problems are still being
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downloaded. The picture size are lower resolution that printed graphics, but are easily seen since pictures have been designed specifically for web page viewing The time required for exam generation is less than time taken for distributing test papers in a traditional classroom setting. FE test is a time-constrained test, hence monitoring the time while practicing is important to simulate the real test taking. The program also carries out all the required calculations to generate answers for the problem. Four answers are generated by the program, a correct answer and three wrong choices. The three wrong choices are very close to the correct answer. There is a possibility that students might miss out some terms while solving the problems and arrive at an answer, which is wrong but close to the actual answer. The wrong answers have been calculated using the same procedure followed for the correct answers but deliberately some parameters were altered in a way the students would have done in an actual exam. For example if a problem involved the calculation of the sine of an angle a student may find the cosine instead and then arrive at a wrong answer. Thus the wrong answers listed for the question would be sine, tan and cot of the angle. This type of framework for the online exam would also allow testing alertness of the students while they take the exam. This practice would help the students to maintain a certain level of caution when they take the actual exam. The PERL program developed above only manages the questions and the random values generated for each question. A second PERL program manages the complete online exam generation system. It sets up a login for the user and manages the security system. Changing the parameters in this program sets the total number of questions
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generated for the exam from the question bank. The following section of code explains that from a question pool of 80 questions 40 questions need to be selected or the exam. $IE_ques_num = 40; $IE_ques_pool = 80; $Start_ProbNum_IE = 1; $ques_total = $Start_ProbNum_IE + $IE_ques_num -1;
The program also creates log files for each user that records each test that is generated and completed. The log files maintain the correct answers for every problem as well as the answers submitted by the user for the problem. The program then compares the two answers and gives the score to the user immediately. Thus users can assess their performance after they submit the test. The program also encompasses a timer, which displays the time remaining for the test to be submitted. At the end of the specified time the test is automatically submitted and the users receive their score. The following block diagram (Fig. 4.1) shows the inter-relationships and the actions performed between the different files, the PERL programs and the Shockwave templates when the user starts taking the practice tests.
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User Selects a particular topic Main WebPage for practice tests PERL problem
Interacts with
generation
Main PERL program
Sets user profiles
Correlates with
Selects number of Problems
Program
Generates problems and their variables
Creates log files Files for User
Log Files
Shockwave templates of
Profiles
problems
Figure 4.1 Block diagram showing problem generation system
4.3 TESTING PROCEDURE
To start taking the tests the user selects the appropriate subject he or she wants to practice from the main page of the FE website. Once the selection has been made it leads the user to the main testing page, which is as shown in Fig 4.2.
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Figure 4.2 The main page for taking practice tests
After the user selects ‘start practice exam’ the login page for the exam system is displayed. At the same time the main PERL program and the Problem generation PERL program are also accessed. The login page is shown in Fig 4.3. The user can now either create an account or use an account created earlier. Students can use guest as the user name and password if they have not set up an account.
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Figure 4.3 Login Page for accessing the practice exams.
The user must set a new account if he/she wants to personalize the testing system so that he/she can view tests taken before. After the user has set up his account and submitted the login information the program checks the authenticity of the user. Immediately a log file is also created for that particular user. This leads the user to a page, which allows him/her to either select an old test, which was submitted earlier, or generate a new exam as shown in Fig 4.4.
Figure 4.4 Page allowing selection of old exams and generation of new exams 62
Currently only the last ten exams can be retrieved by the user. The exams show the time, date and marks scored by the user for the particular test. Subsequent to the user’s selection of either the old test or generation of a new exam the main PERL program interacts with the Problem generation program and selects the number of problems to be displayed. The problem generation program then selects the values for the variables in the Flash Generator templates and the generator generates a new exam. The exam generated is shown in Fig 4.5
Figure 4.5 The problems generated for the exam. 63
As seen in Fig 4.5, the exam page is divided into two sections, which are HTML frames. The first section contains the problems with a related graphic on the left side of the template and the text described on the right side of the template. The second frame consists of the answer sheet, which allows the user to select the appropriate answers for the questions. To finish the exam, the user clicks the submit button at the end of the answer sheet. The PERL program then compares the answers the user has selected with the right answers stored in the log file and gives a score report to the user. Figure 4.6 shows the score report. The contents of the exam problems can be updated and edited constantly to keep up with the ever-changing requirements of this test.
Figure 4.6 The score report generated for an exam
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CHAPTER 5 SOFTWARE USED FOR SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
The FE online review site utilizes numerous diverse multimedia elements such as movie animations, streaming video, graphics, texts, and simulations. These multimedia elements were used with an objective to build a vibrant and interactive review system where the users can prepare for the FE exam. This chapter entails and furnishes a brief overview of the various software packages that were used to develop these multimedia components. The method in which these software packages were used is also discussed. The software packages outlined in this chapter are divided into nine groups: animation, simulation, Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) tools, 3D modeling, graphics, streaming video, equations, HTML authoring and online exam generation software. Macromedia Flash, Director were used to develop the animations and simulations. JavaScript has been used to build the OLAP tools. 3D modeling was accomplished by the use of VRML. The creation of graphics and their modifications were achieved by using Adobe PhotoShop. Software provided by Radius and Media Cleaner was used to process the streaming video. Complicated equations that were used extensively throughout the Basics, Examples, and Problems page were formatted in MathType. The structure and layout of the Basics, Examples, and Problems page, as well as the text fonts were created and edited using Symantec Visual Page and Macromedia Dreamweaver. Finally the online exam generation system was created with the use of PERL and Flash Generator from Macromedia.
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5.1 ANIMATION SOFTWARE – MACROMEDIA FLASH
The animations in the Basics page were developed using Macromedia Flash. The following section gives a brief outline about Flash and the way it was used to build interactivity in the system. Macromedia Flash was used due to its web-based interactivity and ease of use. Flash is a vector graphics editing, animation and authoring tool for the Web (Macromedia Flash, 1998). Flash has the capability of creating both graphics and animations through a user-friendly interface and it also keeps the file sizes to a minimum. In addition, interactive controls and specified actions can be integrated within the animation without the hassle of dealing with scripting languages. These qualities make Flash a suitable tool for developing animation and interactivity for Web pages (Macromedia, Flash, 1998). The operation of Flash includes using a stage, timeline, command and control panels, and drawing tools. All the drawings, animations and imported graphics are developed and edited on the stage. The timeline specifies the individual elements or contents of a movie over a length of time using frames. Key frames which define changes in an animation, were further used to change the contents such as graphics, text, color or motion of the animation. The contents were developed on different layers so that they can be classified according to their features, which eventually lead to better work organization. Flash was also used to develop graphics along with PhotoShop. Since Flash uses vector-based graphics, which are defined using mathematical equations, they are resolutionindependent and can be resized without losing their crisp and smooth features.
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Flash is capable of creating two types of animations: tweened and frame-byframe. Tweened animation is used when the images in the animation involve translation, rotation or scaling. Frame-by-frame animation is used when the images in the animation change with respect to time. There are two different types of tweened animations, which are utilized in Flash: motion and shape. In case of motion tweening, the movements of a group of elements or symbols are ordained by Flash. Motion tweening only deals with rotating, scaling, and orienting groups of elements or symbols. The actual shape of the elements is modified using shape tweening. The user defines the initial and final shape of the object and Flash morphs and smoothly blends the initial shape of the object into the final one. Another important feature of Flash is the symbol. Symbols are reusable entities that are stored in the Flash library. There are three different types of symbols, graphic, button, and movie clip. A graphic symbol is used for graphics, images or animations that will be repeatedly used. The button property induces a timeline with only four frames on the symbol. These four frames specify the actions of mouse-up (mouse button is not activated), mouse over (mouse pointer is over), mouse-down (mouse button is pressed), and mouse hit (area which will respond to the actions of the mouse). The button symbol has been used extensively in all the animations in the system for the ‘play’, ‘pause’ and ‘rewind’ actions. The movie clip symbol is similar to a graphic symbol, which encompasses the functionality and interactivity of a movie. This movie is self-contained and is independent of the main timeline. Flash also allows the integration of sound within the movies. Sound files are imported in Flash in the form of AIFF or WAV file formats. There are two types of sound
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elements available in Flash: event and stream. An event sound element plays the sound independent of the animation timeline and plays it only when the entire sound file has been completely downloaded. Once it starts playing, it continues to play even if the animation has stopped. Streaming sound begins playing as soon as a fraction of sound data has been downloaded. Simultaneously when the streaming sound element is playing the remainder is being downloaded continuously until the complete file is downloaded. The streaming sound is synchronized with the movie animation timeline and it ceases to play if the animation stops. All the animations developed in the online review system have sound embedded into them.
5.2 SIMULATION SOFTWARE - MACROMEDIA DIRECTOR
Director is the foremost multimedia-authoring tool, which is used for creating interactive simulations for the Internet and CD-ROMs (Macromedia Director, 1998). Director allows a network operation to begin even though a previous network operation is not complete. This capability is known as background loading and allows files to load while other activities proceed. The different components of Director are cast, score, stage, sprite, movie, member, frame, and channel. These components are used to create animations and graphics in Director. Director's capabilities of creating complex and interactive simulations are empowered by a programming language known as Lingo, which is built into the Director program. Director was used to develop the Shockwave navigation system as well as all the Shockwave interactive simulations available in Statistics and Computer Integrated Manufacturing modules.
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All elements of graphics, vector shapes, texts, sounds, or movies that are used in a Director movie are known as cast members. Cast members can be created and modified within Director or imported from an external source. Director can accept cast members from different graphics, audio or video formats. All the cast members are listed in the Cast window and have their own property window, which allows the user to edit their properties. External cast libraries are used to store cast members, which can be used in different Director movies. The score is used to determine the movements, presence, timing, and location of each cast member (Macromedia Director, 1998). Once a cast member is placed in the score, a corresponding sprite will appear on the score channel. Properties of a cast member such as its location on the stage and position in the score are given in the sprite. The stage is the visible area of a movie where the cast members are seen. The physical location of a cast member on the stage is determined by the user. Similar to Flash, it can also carry out tweened animations and has the ability to build vector graphics. To create an interactive Director simulation, Lingo scripts are used. Lingo offers the user with a multitude of flexibility and control over each cast member's actions throughout the entire Director movie. Sound elements can also be imported and embedded within a Director movie. Once an audio element is employed, Lingo can be used to control it. After the Director movie is completed it is exported as a Shockwave movie. A Shockwave movie is a compressed version of movie data, which plays within a web page. Exporting a movie as shockwave compresses the data, removes all the information needed to edit the movie, and excludes the software that plays the movie.
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5.3 ONLINE ANALYTICAL PROCESSING (OLAP) TOOLS
Java and JavaScript are generally used as OLAP tools building software. Java applets are programs, which are downloaded from the World Wide Web by a web browser and run inside an HTML web page. As compared to Java, JavaScript is simpler so it was used as the tool in developing the online system. It was possible to use Director also for developing the OLAP tools but since these tools did not require any graphics Director was not used. The browser software interprets the JavaScript in the same way as it would interpret the HTML tags. The browser then executes and converts the JavaScript code into actions. The JavaScript is coded either using a text editor or an HTML authoring language. For this project all the JavaScript was coded in an HTML environment. All the JavaScript statements are enclosed in a … tag pair, which enables the browser to recognize that it is encountering JavaScript (Goodman, 1998). Different applications were created for the Economics, Database Management and the Computer Integrated Manufacturing modules since they involved problems requiring intricate calculations. The users can practice solving the problems using these OLAP tools and thus save time. Subsequently the standard methods for performing a particular calculation or a procedure were laid down. These methods were then systematically converted into JavaScript code and tested out individually for their correctness. After the application was successfully tested it was integrated into the system for the users to use.
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5.4 THREE DIMENSIONAL MODELING
3D Modeling for the Robotics and Flexible Manufacturing Systems and Manufacturing Processes modules was done by using Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML). VRML files are the textual descriptions of virtual worlds. These worlds are created by using a text editor and by a software known as CosmoWorlds. The VRML files contain different components, which are the header, prototypes, Shapes, Interpolators, Sensors and Scripts and routes. To view VRML worlds on the Internet a VRML plug in is required. VRML is freely downloaded software. It works equally well on Internet Explorer as well as Netscape’s Navigator. VRML supports several primitive shape geometries such as boxes, cylinders, cones and spheres as well as advanced shape geometries like extruded shapes and elevation grids (Ames, et al., 1997). These shapes were then used further to build complex models for the automobile factory and the robots. These models were built in a step-by-step procedure where every component was designed separately and then integrated with the whole system. The different parts of a component were initially built as 2D figures and then extruded to attain the 3D shape. All VRML file contains nodes, which describe the shapes and properties of the different objects in the virtual world. To build animation or user interactivity into the virtual environments these nodes are inter-linked to each other using routes. The inter-linking of these nodes is known as wiring. Once a node is wired to another node by a route the first node can send messages to the other node along that route. Such a message is known as an event, which contains a value, similar to the field values within the nodes. There are different types of sensors in VRML such as
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timesensors and touchsensors, which are used to control an animation. Touch sensors have been used in the online review site for activating the animations. The output from these touch sensors is then fed to a position interpolator and an orientation interpolator, which generate the new position and rotation values for the particular object in the world. For example: The node for the start button in the factory is wired to a touch sensor, which is routed to the position and orientation interpolators of the parts being machined and the machines in the factory. Thus when the user touches the start button the touch sensor sends a command to change the position and orientation of the parts and machines in the factory. Use of 3D modeling on the website further promotes user interactivity and arouses user interest to learn and revise the material. When a student observes the animation of different 3D robots it is easier to understand how they work. Students are able to understand complicated concepts since they are able to visualize them and relate them to the theory they have learnt. The need to go to an actual automobile assembly line is reduced as students can observe it in 3D and thus understand the constraints and functionalities involved. Students who were shown these 3D models gave a feedback, which was inline with the objectives of developing these models.
5.5 GRAPHICS AUTHORING SOFTWARE
Graphics were used throughout the online review especially in the Basics, Examples and the exam generation system. There are various software programs available for editing and developing graphics such as Adobe PhotoShop, Macromedia
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Fireworks, Photo Styler, Painter, CorelDRAW and Photo Draw. Adobe Photoshop was selected as the software for processing and developing graphics for the online review since it is the standard graphics program used by the industry and graphic artists. Kai Power Tools a Photoshop Plug-in that enhances the capabilities of Photoshop was also used. As defined by its creator PhotoShop is ‘an electronic passport to high end color desktop publishing as well as prepress, multimedia, animation, digital photography and painting.’ (Greenburg, 1997). An image can be imported in PhotoShop from a scanner, digital or video camera, video recorder or photo CD. Once the image is imported it can be re-touched, painted, color corrected, sharpened, rippled or distorted. The image can also be cut in pieces, juxtaposed or blended with another image. Every PhotoShop image is composed of minute squares called as pixels. All the modifications, which are carried out on the image, are actually done to the pixels of which the image is composed. Since the images created using PhotoShop are composed of a grid of pixels a computer scans these images by using a procedure called as raster scanning. The different features in PhotoShop include a toolbox, which has about 22 different tools for creating, painting and editing graphics. Along with different tools PhotoShop also makes use of nine different palettes, which aid in the selection of different types of brushes, the opacity and type of colors, information on the colors, the sequence of actions followed or the paths and zoom in and out functions. All the images and graphics, which were processed in PhotoShop, were exported as Graphics Interface Format (GIF) using PhotoShop’s export option. This format was used because GIF's compression method reduces the number of colors to 256 or less and thus reduces the file size.
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5.6 STREAMING VIDEO PROCESSING SOFTWARE
Streaming video technology was used in one of the modules for Total Quality Management where a lecture on the topic was captured and processed to view on the Internet. The lecture was captured by using a digital camera and then downloaded on a computer having a video capture board installed. After downloading the file was compressed so that it can be viewed through a modem on the Internet. In order to compress the file it was broken down into small segments and all the segments were then compressed individually as a single batch. In order to handle the tasks of compressing and synchronizing movies multimedia technologies known as architectures and codecs were used. Digital video files can be synchronized using multimedia architectures such as QuickTime and Real Video. Codecs are the actual compression and decompression algorithms, which are used to compress the movies. Sorenson video and Cinepak are the commonly used codecs. Media Cleaner, a media optimization and compression application, was used to transform uncompressed movies high quality, compressed files for distribution on the online review site. The desired video settings such as frame rate, movie size, audio quality, and streaming rate were defined in Media Cleaner. Sorenson video codecs was used for compression due to its batch-processing feature. After the video was compressed it was linked to its screen-captured image with the help of JavaScript.
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5.7 EQUATION FORMATTING SOFTWARE
MathType was used as the equation editing software to develop equations for the Basics page, Examples page as well as the Problems page. MathType provides a large number of mathematical symbols and abbreviations, which are easily accessible from pull-down menus thus allowing equations to be created and edited easily. The MathType version available for Windows consist of 175 templates and 214 symbols readily available on-screen. MathType offers several features to help develop equations swiftly. The on-screen mathematical symbols can be added or removed at the user's discretion. Also the user can change the sizes and appearances of each symbol or font by changing the preferences. MathType also has a built-in capability, which recognizes commonly used mathematical abbreviations, such trigonometric, log, and calculus terms and pre-defines an appropriate font type and size for them. This allows users to maintain a level of consistency in their work and improve productivity. Users can either cut and paste the equations they have edited into a word processing application or any other programs that supports the format or export the equations as GIF images. MathType equations can also be exported as PICT, Encapsulated PostScript (EPS), or Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) (MathType, 1997).
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5.8 HTML AUTHORING SOFTWARE
There are different types of HTML authoring software, which are available in the market. Of the numerous packages the prominently used ones are Microsoft Front Page, Symantec Visual Page and Macromedia Dreamweaver. Out of these three software, Visual Page and Dreamweaver was used throughout the online site development process. The following sections present a brief overview of Visual Page and Dreamweaver.
5.8.1 VISUAL PAGE
Visual Page is a tool, which is used for creating, managing, editing and publishing documents on the web (Symantec Corporation, 1998). It is one of the “What-you-see-iswhat-you-get (WYSIWG)” web design software available in the market. A person having reasonable HTML skills can use visual page to build web pages. Documents can be created in Visual Page just like they are created in a basic word processing program. Blocks of text, graphics and other web-based media can be dragged and dropped in Visual Page and which then generates the HTML code for the same. Visual Page is also capable of integrating Java, JavaScript, QuickTime movies, Navigator plugins and CGI forms in the web pages (Symantec Corporation, 1998).
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5.8.2 MACROMEDIA DREAMWEAVER
Dreamweaver is a professional visual-editing tool for developing and maintaining web pages and sites. Dreamweaver can create and edit cross platform and cross browser web pages and is equipped with advanced design and layout tools which allow the user to manipulate a Web page's styles, layouts, images, graphics, and texts. Dreamweaver also has built-in functions for inserting applets, Java and VB scripts, plug-ins, ActiveX, Flash and Director Shockwave files, and rollover images. Dreamweaver also employs a timeline whereby users can incorporate Dynamic Hypertext Markup Language (DHTML) (Macromedia Dreamweaver, 1998). DHTML has the capability of changing the style, layout and location of elements in a Web page with respect to time by the use of scripting languages. Another advantage with Dreamweaver is that it color codes JavaScript and thus makes it easier to edit.
5.9 ONLINE EXAM GENERATION SOFTWARE
Two software packages, Macromedia Generator and PERL were used to develop the online exam generation system. Both the programs are server-based programs. The following sections describe the two packages and how they were used for developing the online review system.
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5.9.1 MACROMEDIA GENERATOR
Macromedia Generator combines standardized templates developed by the user in Flash with the content specified in the data source to dynamically create web page animations. It customizes and updates the content for individual users. (Macromedia Generator, 1998) A Flash Generator template is a special flash movie, which has placeholders for text and graphics. A generator template command directs the Generator to perform certain operations on the template before exporting it as a Shockwave flash file. Flash templates have variable elements in the form of graphics and text. Variables are defined in curly braces such as {variable name}. These variable elements will be replaced with the contents from the server by a programming language for the web. The generated content can then be displayed on the user’s browser as Shockwave flash or GIF animated files. Thus Flash generator serves as the graphical front-end for developing server side applications such as the online exam generation system.
5.7.2 PRACTICAL EXTRACTION AND REPORT LANGUAGE (PERL)
PERL is used as a server side programming language for developing the online examination system. Since students need to submit their responses for generating the exams to the server via Internet a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) is required. PERL was chosen as the backbone CGI programming language due to its platform compatibility and its powerful variable handling competence. Another language, which could have
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served the purpose, is ASP. Originally PERL was developed as a network programming language for Unix platforms but PERL compilers are now compatible with Windows NT.
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CHAPTER 6 EVALUATION AND FEEDBACK
One of the best tools which can be used to evaluate a learning system is user feedback. User feedback not only helps in appraising the system but also helps in establishing the standards for quality control. There are different ways in which user feedback can be obtained. Users can give their feedback either in an electronic format by posting their suggestions on Web-bulletin boards or newsgroups, or in a normal paper based format by answering to a structured questionnaire. A web bulletin board was set up with the intent of acquiring user feedback on the effectiveness of the morning session of FE online review system. A web bulletin board has many features such as setting up of discussion groups, posting messages, inclusion of file attachments. The most important aspect of setting up a web bulletin system was to facilitate global feedback since any browser can access it at any time. Since the online review has not yet been officially published and used officially in an academic environment, statistics regarding the manner in which the web bulletin board is used are not available.
6.1 WEB TRENDS ANALYSIS
The Web Trends Log Analyzer, which is a comprehensive Web server log analysis instrument, was used to monitor the activities on the complete FE website. The analysis was done for the month of March 2000. With the help of the Web Trends Log
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Analyzer one can obtain different information such as: most visited pages, least requested pages, activity levels by the hour of the day, top referring sites and top searched engines etc. Some of the results obtained from the Web Trends Log Analyzer depicted that the site was accessed generally after work hours between 5.01 pm to 7.59 am where 84.82% of users (20603 hits) were observed. Figure 6.1 shows a graph of activity level by the hour of the day.
Figure 6.1 Activity levels by the hour of the day on the online review site.
The site was also accessed mainly during the weekdays with Thursday being the most active day and seldom on the weekends. Figure 6.2 shows a graph of activity level by the day of the week. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer was the most used browser followed by Netscape’s Navigator and the site was accessed mainly from computers having the Windows NT platform as compared to Windows 95 and Macintosh. Web Trends analysis also showed that the online review site was accessed in the USA as well as internationally in 8 different countries and by different educational as well as corporate 81
organizations. Figure 6.3 shows companies or organizations that accessed the online review site the most often. The technical statistics and analysis showed that there were totally 24403 hits out of which 24288 were successful. Thus only 115 hits failed. This helped in determining that the online review site was reliable.
Figure 6.2 Activity level by the day of the week
Figure 6.3 Most active organizations visiting the online review site 82
Although the Web Trends Log Analyzer provides useful information related to the technicalities in operating the system it has not yet provided a comparative user feedback on the system. The Analyzer was not able to collect any input from the users evaluating the relative performance of the system as compared to the existing media for preparing for the FE examination.
6.2 POST PROJECT SURVEY
To obtain a constructive feedback in analyzing the online system vis-à-vis the current preparation methods a survey was conducted at the University of Oklahoma, Norman. The complete FE system was presented to an audience comprising of students in their senior year in the Industrial Engineering department and a Professional Engineer from the industry. The questionnaire compared the various intrinsic features of textbooks, which are used for preparing for the FE examination, and the online system developed. Ten people participated in the survey. The sample size of participants is small but this is attributed to the fact that there are only 8 students in the Industrial Engineering senior design class. Though the responses are subjective and do not provide a truly quantitative indication they do provide useful insight for determining whether the system is useful or not and thus can justify the objectives of research. None of the participants had any prior experience using a web-based system for preparing for an examination and neither had they interacted with any computer-based training material in any of their classes. All the participants expressed that they would
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prepare for the FE exam for 6 hours per week on average and they had an average experience of using the Internet for 5 years. The Professional Engineer did not give his feedback in the form of a questionnaire but made a statement through an email stating that: “Thanks again for coming to my class yesterday..you did an excellent job. I will let the state board know about your efforts..should help the students get ready..” Although the feedback received from him was not as per the format specified in the questionnaire, it is very important since it is given by a Professional Engineer who regularly conducts review sessions for the FE exam at the University of Oklahoma. It can be seen that the feedback is very positive and encouraging. In the survey the on-line review was compared with the textbooks used for preparing for the FE examination and the audience was asked to rate their responses for the questions on a scale of 1 to 5 where: 1 represented Very Good, 2Good, 3-Moderate, 4-Just Enough, 5-Scarce. The summary of the responses received from the other six participants and their analysis is as shown in table 6.1.
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S.No.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
85
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Questions
Material Coverage to prepare for the exam. Sufficiency of topics Quality of practice exams Convenience of use Flexibility and ease of use Feedback medium to offer answers to questions Coverage of relevant theory and equations Use of multimedia such as animations, graphics Quality of examples and practice problems User Interactivity Features such as chatroom, bulletin board Accuracy of Content Completeness of content Depth of content Usefulness of Online timed testing Usefulness of randomly generated test questions Ability to view old tests Overall benefit for exam preparation Usefulness of interactive web based education
Book
On-line review Responses received (%) Just Scarce Very Good Enough Good 67 33
Very Good 84
Good
Moderate
16
-
84 50 17 50
16 50 66 17
17 33
-
-
84 84 84 84 84
84
16
-
-
-
-
Moderate -
Just Enough -
Scarce
16 16 16 16 16
-
-
-
84
16
-
-
-
-
100
-
-
-
-
-
50
50
-
-
-
100
-
-
-
-
17
33
50
-
-
100 67
33
-
-
-
84 84 84
16 16 17
-
-
-
67 84 84 100
33 16 16 -
-
-
-
-
-
100
-
-
-
-
-
-
84 84
16 16
-
-
-
-
-
100
-
-
-
-
50
84 50
16 -
Table 6.1 Analysis of post project survey
The detailed questionnaire is available in the APPENDIX A. The analysis shows the percentage of the audience, which has responded for either of the above options for a particular question. The key points, which can be inferred from the survey, are that all the participants are of the opinion that the use of multimedia tools, user interactivity, use of online tests and randomly generated questions is beneficial and would help them prepare for the exam. The responses for questions comparing the book and the online system showed that for all the questions except one, the online system was either better or equal to the book for preparing for the exam. The question, which suggested that the book was better than the online system, was when both of them were compared in terms of accuracy of content. This can be attributed to the fact that when the survey was conducted, the online review system was just complete and that the online program had not been reviewed. The book and the online review system were graded equally in terms of the depth of the content, completeness of the content and coverage of relevant theory and questions.
6.2 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
Statistical analysis was carried out to analyze the data obtained from the questionnaire. In the survey six questions did not compare the book and the online review and four questions had the same feedback for the book and online review system. So the remaining nine questions out of the nineteen were selected for statistical analysis. A single factor, two level experimental design procedure was applied to analyze the data. The single factor was which method of learning is good and the two levels were the
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online review system and the book. Initially all the responses of the nine questions were combined and then statistical analysis was performed. Combining the data helped in increasing the sample size. Since the sample size was large a normal distribution was assumed. A single factor two level ANOVA analysis was carried out. But the results of the analysis showed that the data was not normally distributed and thus violated the assumption of normality. Also combing the data resulted in losing the sensitivity of data. Therefore it was decided to analyze the responses for individual questions. Statistical Analysis Software (SAS) was used to perform a UNIVARIATE analysis of the responses for each individual question. UNIVARIATE procedure performs a sign test and the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test. Again UNIVARIATE procedure also requires that data should be in normal distribution and thus this procedure was not followed further. Another method known as the NPAR1WAY procedure was then applied to the responses from individual questions. This procedure is a nonparametric procedure used for distributions that are not normal. The procedure performs the analysis of variance on ranks and it computes several statistics based on the empirical distribution function. The data files for the responses of each question were imported from Excel into SAS. The data files had to be in a specified format as shown in the fig 6.2 below.
Question No. 9 9 9 9 . . 9
Student 1 1 2 2 . . 10
Method of Study Book Online Book Online . . Online
Response 2 1 2 1 . . 1
Figure 6.4 Data format for SAS analysis 87
The data was analyzed in SAS using the standard procedure for NPAR1WAY outlined in the SAS users manual. The output and log files are in APPENDIX B. The Wilcoxon 2Sample Test, was performed on the data and the results were analyzed. The ‘Z’ value and the probability values were used to determine the significant difference between the two levels at 95% confidence level. Table 6.2 summarizes the results obtained from the SAS analysis.
Question
‘Z’ value
Probability value
Significantly different
Question 1
-0.4529
0.6506
No
Question 3
1.32512
0.1851√
No
Question 4
2.6424
0.0082
Yes
Question 5
1.5636
0.1179√
No
Question 9
2.4662
0.0137
Yes
Question 10 Question 12 Question 17
2.8356
0.0046
Yes
-0.4529
0.6506
No
3.4813
0.0005
Yes
Question 18
1.32512
0.1851√
No
Inference
The online review system and the book are equally good in terms of material coverage The online review system and the book are equally good with respect to quality of practice exams The online review system is more convenient to use than the book Both the online review system and the book are equally flexible The online review system is better than the book with respect to quality of examples and practice problems. The online review system is more user interactive than the book Both the online review system and the book are equally accurate The ability of the online review system to view the old tests is better then that of the book Both the book and the online review system are equally beneficial for exam preparation
Table 6.2 Summary of the results obtained from SAS
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The ‘Z’ values having a ‘√’ mark beside them show that there is a trend towards a significant difference that might be evident with a larger sample size. We observe that question 1 and question 12 in the survey do not contribute towards determining which method of preparation for the FE examination is better. If a larger sample size is obtained then it can be shown that questions 4, 9, 10 and 17 would have a significant difference in the responses obtained and they would further help in proving that the online review system is better. Thus from the above statistical analysis we can infer that the online review system is better than the book with regard to the quality of the examples and practice problems, convenience of use, user interactivity and ability to view old tests.
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CHAPTER 7 SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
7.1 SUMMARY
The Internet and World Wide Web are being used as important tools for imparting quality education in the corporate sector as well as the university environment. The Online system for the Fundamentals of Engineering examination is one of the several projects undertaken at the Engineering Media Lab to explore the potential of distance learning applications over the Web. The first phase of the project was to develop the system for the morning session of the exam and the second phase was to develop the system for the branch specific exam. The Industrial Engineering review system forms a part of the second phase of the project. The completion of the Industrial Engineering section of this project is also an important first step in developing Industrial Engineering curriculum on the Web. A pre-project survey conducted during the initial phases of developing the Industrial Engineering online review system laid down the foundations for the feasibility of developing such an online system for Industrial Engineering. The Industrial Engineering section was broken down into 21 different modules covering all the aspects in Industrial Engineering. Various Industrial Engineering handbooks and literature provided by NCEES was referenced before deciding the breakdown structure. Each module was further divided into Basics, Examples, and Problems page. It was later on proved by the post project survey that the breakdown structure helped the users to have a
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sequential and ordered approach towards preparation for the review process. . For each of the 21 modules an analysis of the main theory was conducted to determine which concepts would be difficult for the user to understand. These concepts were further analyzed to determine the best way in which they could be presented to the user so that they are interpreted and understood in a lucid manner. These concepts were then modeled using different multimedia tools. The different multimedia tools used in the online review system such as movie animations, simulations, OLAP tools and compressed videos provide the users with an innovative and interactive environment and encourage user input and participation. To help the users practice taking exams an online examination generating random tests was developed simulating the actual examination. Various books and other relevant material were referred for preparing the review as well as the testing system. Current review textbooks and manuals contain only static text, equations, and graphics, but the use of multimedia opens up a new dynamic dimension in the reviewing process. Users are no longer confined to just reading review textbooks or manuals but are able to make use of the multimedia elements to enliven the review method. It took approximately eight man months to develop the whole online review system. This was apart from the time required for learning different multimedia technologies and their applications required for developing the online review site. Extensive work was further carried out to ensure all relevant text, graphical, and image links function as expected. For example a complete review of the online review site was held for one month to check for content authenticity. The complete online review system was then presented to a group of students and a post project survey was conducted. Different statistical methods were used to analyze the survey; the most
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applicable method was the NPAR1WAY procedure in SAS, which was finally used for analysis. The survey was then analyzed statistically to determine which method of learning was better. One can conclude from the survey that the online review system is better than the book in many different aspects such as quality of the examples and practice problems, convenience of use, user interactivity and ability to view old tests. The statistical analysis also helped in determining the areas where the online review system needed improvement so that it could be made better than the textbook.
7.1 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE WORK
The project now being close to completion needs to be given more publicity so that students as well as working professionals are aware of the system. This would also help in getting stronger user feedback. As mentioned in the earlier chapter only ten students participated in the survey. The reason for this is that there are only eight students in the senior design class. But if more publicity was carried out before there would have been a chance that students from the other departments such as Mechanical Engineering might have participated and this would have helped in obtaining a stronger user feedback. One more method to request feedback from users is to have half the class study using the regular textbook material and half the class prepare for the exam using the online system. Then the students should be tested with the same final exam simulating the actual exam and the results should be analyzed. This would give an exact feedback regarding the usefulness of the system. This can be achieved only if the faculty who conduct review
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sessions for the FE exam and the students who are appearing for the exam agree to this suggestion. The technology used to develop the system can be further updated as new technology is constantly being developed. Especially Java can be used to develop interactive and complex applications. The online examination system can be further upgraded to a database management system from the current file management system. All the various problems and the different modules can be stored in a single Access database instead of different folders and a logical relationship can be established between them. If the data to be stored is large and unmanageable for Access then it is recommended that Oracle should be used. This would help in building a stable system by reducing redundancy, concurrent access anomalies and security problems. JDBC/ASP can then be used to retrieve different modules or questions. This would help in managing the system in a better way staying concurrent with the latest technology. An online walk-through tutorial should be developed for new users who are not familiar with the online review system. The tutorial should be displayed before the user enters the system. Information about reference material for every module should be given for further reading.
The current system does not display it. In the Problems page
explanation should be provided for the wrong answers clicked by the users. The online exam should also provide reasons for the wrong answers marked by the user when the scores are reported. This would help the students determine the areas, which they need to revise. In the current online exam system the user cannot choose the total number of problems he/she wishes to solve. An option should be provided where the user selects the number of problems one wishes to solve. This is necessary, as all the users may not have
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time for solving all the 60 problems. A database of faculty and their contacts should be provided in the online review so that students can contact appropriate qualified professionals for their questions. A usability analysis and testing of the complete system, which would include the morning and the afternoon sessions, needs to be carried out to ensure that the system confirms to the industry standards.
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REFERENCES Ames, Andrea L., Moreland, John. L., and Nadeau, David R., (1997), "VRML 2.0 Sourcebook", 2nd Edition. John Wiley and Sons Inc. New York. Atkins, Jerome A., (1999), “An Innovative Alternative To Traditional Engineering Education”, American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Annual Conference Proceedings, Charlotte, North Carolina. Bassi, Laurie J., Benson, George, Cheney, Scott (1996, November), The top ten trends. Training and Development 50(1), 28-42. Chute, Alan, Thompson, Melody, Hancock and Burton, (1999), The McGraw-Hill handbook of distance learning. McGraw-Hill. Dede, C., (1996), “Emerging Technologies in Distance Education for Business”, Journal of Education for Business, 71(4), 197-204. Design Science Inc, (1997), “MathType Mathematical Equation Editor User Manual”. Emerson, John, Mosteller, Frederick, (1998), “Interactive Multimedia in College Teaching Part I, A Ten Year Review of Reviews” Educational Media and Technology Year Book. Farquhar, J.D., et al., (1996),“ The Internet as a tool for Social Construction of Knowledge.”, Proceedings of Selected Research and Development Presentations at the 1996 National Convention of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology; edited by M.R. Simson et al., Washington DC: Association for Educational Communications and Technology.
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Filipczak, Bob, (1996, September), Training on Intranets: The hope and the hype, Training 24-32. Forsyth, Ian, (1998), Teaching and Learning Materials and the Internet, Second Edition, Kogan Page Limited London. Francis, B., Fedorov, A., Harrison, R., Homer, A., Murphy, S., Smith, R., Sussman, D., Wood, S., (1998), “Professional Active Server Pages 2.0”, Wrox Press Ltd. Canada. Goodman, Danny, (1998), “JavaScript Bible”, 3rd Edition, IDG books worldwide California. Hardy, D.W., and Boaz, M.H., (1997), “Learner Development: Beyond the Technology”, Teaching and Learning at a Distance: What It Takes to Effectively Design, Deliver and Evaluate Programs, 71, 41-48. Imel, Susan, (1999), “Distance Learning Myths and Realities”, Colombus: ERIC Clearing House on Adult, Career and Vocational Education. The Ohio State University. Imel, Susan, (1997), “Web Based Training, Trends, Issues and Alerts”, Colombus: ERIC Clearing House on Adult, Career and Vocational Education. The Ohio State University. Jong, Ton, Sarti, Luigi, (1993), Design and Production of Multimedia and SimulationBased Learning Material. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht. Kerka, Sandra, (1996), “ Distance Learning, the Internet, and the World Wide Web” Colombus: ERIC Clearing House on Information Analysis. The Ohio State University. Information analysis. ERIC Clearing House Products. Lemay, L., and Perkins, C., (1997), “Teach yourself Java in 21 days.”, 2nd Edition. Techmedia, New Delhi.
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Macromedia Inc., (1998), “Using Dreamweaver 2”. Macromedia Inc.,(1998), “Using Generator”. Macromedia Inc., (1998), “Using Flash 3.0”. Macromedia Inc., (1997), “Using Director 6.0”. Mayfield, J., and Ali, K., (1996), “The Internet as an Educational Tool”, Computers and Industrial Engineering, 30(1), 21-24. McArthur, David J., and Lewis, Matthew W., (1998), Untangling the Web – Applications of the Internet and Other Information Technologies to Higher Learning. Rand Education. Mccright, John S., (1999, November), PC Week Online, “Cisco Chambers: e-learning will help us control our destinies.” Mills, Anthony, (1999), “Collaborative Engineering as an Element of the Integrated Manufacturing Enterprise”. Computer and Automated Systems Association of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Musiciano C., and Kennedy B., (1998), HTML The definitive guide, Third Edition. O’Reilly and Associates, California. Ng, Adrian M., and Gramoll Kurt, (1999),“Online Review and Practice Test for the Fundamentals of Engineering.” American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Annual Conference Proceedings, Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina. Potter, Merle, (1998), Fundamentals in Engineering – FE/EIT A.M. and General P.M. Review, 7th Edition.
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Schwartz, R.L., and Christiansen, T., (1997), Learning Perl, Second Edition. O’Reilly and Associates, California. Sherman, D., “Career Counseling in Cyberspace” ,(1994), Journal of Career Planning and Employment, 55(1), 29-32, 62-63. Stammen, Ronald M., (1995),“Using Multimedia for distance learning in adult, career, and vocational education”. Information series no 362. Colombus: ERIC Clearing House. The Ohio State University. Symantec Corporation, (1998), “Visual Page User's Guide”. Walter L., Smith J., Steadman J., White K., (1999), Engineering curriculum assessment – “Using the fundamentals of engineering (FE) examination to assess academic programs.” Weber, B., (February, 1997), Motor Age Online “Going the distance for learning.” Young, Donovan, (1997), EIT Industrial Engineering Review for the FE exam.
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APPENDIX A Post Project Survey
99
Dear Student, This survey is being carried out on the behalf of the Engineering Media Lab at the University of Oklahoma. We have created an on-line review software for the Fundamentals in Engineering Examination. We would highly appreciate if you would take some time to answer the attached questions as it will help the University to analyze the software and make it better for the use of students. Instructions: 1. You can access the website at : www.eml.ou.edu 2. You may have to download shockwave, QuickTime and VRML player on your Computer. The links for downloading the players are provided on the website. 3. Please click on the link on the left frame, which says: Engineering Exam. 4. Click on the HTML menu to have faster access. 5. You can either view the morning or the afternoon sections by selecting them. 6. To take the practice exam for the morning session click on the fundamentals link under the practice exams 7. To take the Industrial Engineering practice exam go to http://eml9.ou.edu/testing/exam.htm 8. If you have any further questions please contact Rishi or Adrian in the Engineering Media Lab at the contact given below. Thank you very much for taking the time to help OU students and the Engineering Media Lab and wish you the best in your career!! Engineering Media Lab 236, Felgar Hall Tel: 325-5253 / 5342 Email:
[email protected] [email protected]
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Have you ever studied before using a web-based system?
Yes
No
Have you interacted with computer-based training material in any of your classes
Yes
No
Would you prefer (Choose only one) Only a handbook for the preparation? Only electronic media for preparation? Help sessions with a handbook? Help sessions with electronic media? Help sessions with electronic media and handbook? How much time would you spend on preparing for the FE exam?
________________
Approximately how many years of experience do you have using the Internet? ________ What is your major and year in school? __________________ Comments and suggestions if any ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
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APPENDIX B SAS Output
103
APPENDIX C PERL program for online exam generation
125
############################################################ # Industrial Engineering-QUESTION-LIB.PL ############################################################ sub ie_questions { local($qnum, $CurProbNum, $fixdir) = @_; local($pi); $pi=atan2(1,1)*4; # pi constant $radian=$pi/180; # radian print input2 "q".$CurProbNum.", industrial/ie".$qnum.".swt\n"; print input2 "prob".$CurProbNum.", ".$fixdir."/\n"; if ($qnum eq "1") { $ie1v1 = int(rand(100))+10000;
# amount of premium models from
100 to 10000 $ie1v2 = int(rand(500))+5000; amount of standard models from 500 to 5000 $ie1v3 = int(rand(20))+5; # assembly line accom. for premium models $ie1v4 = int(rand(20))+2; # assembly line accom. for standard models $ie1v5 = int(rand(10))+60; assembly time for assemb. premium models $ie1v6 = int(rand(10))+50; assembly time for assemb. standard models $ie1v7 = int(rand(500))+6000; operation per year $ie1v8 = int(rand(15))+2; # shift allowance print input2 "ie1v1, $ie1v1\n"; print input2 "ie1v2, $ie1v2\n"; print input2 "ie1v3, $ie1v3\n"; print input2 "ie1v4, $ie1v4\n"; print input2 "ie1v5, $ie1v5\n"; print input2 "ie1v6, $ie1v6\n"; print input2 "ie1v7, $ie1v7\n"; print input2 "ie1v8, $ie1v8\n"; $temp1 = ($ie1v5*60)/$ie1v3; $temp2 = ($ie1v6*60)/$ie1v4; $temp3 = ($ie1v8)/100; $temp4 = 1-$temp3; $temp5 = $ie1v7*$temp4;
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#
# # # hours of
$temp6 = ($ie1v1*$temp1+$ie1v2*$temp2)/$temp5; $A = int($temp6*100)/100; $B = int($temp1); $C = int($temp2); $D = int($temp3); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "2") { $ie2v1 = int(rand(1.50)*100)/100+0.25; # random numbers between 0.25 to 1.50 $ie2v2 = int(rand(1.50)*100)/100+0.25; # random numbers between 0.25 to 1.50 $ie2v3 = int(rand(1.50)*100)/100+0.25; # random numbers between 0.25 to 1.50 $ie2v4 = int(rand(1.50)*100)/100+0.25; # random numbers between 0.25 to 1.50 $ie2v5 = int(rand(1.50)*100)/100+0.25; # random numbers between 0.25 to 1.50 $ie2v6 = int(rand(1.50)*100)/100+0.25; # random numbers between 0.25 to 1.50 $ie2v7 = int(rand(1.50)*100)/100+0.25; # random numbers between 0.25 to 1.50 $ie2v8 = int(rand(100))+5500; # random numbers between $ie2v9 = int(rand(25))+5; # random numbers between 25 to 5 $ie2v10 = int(rand(35000))+10000; # random numbers between 35000 to 10000 print input2 "ie2v1, $ie2v1\n"; print input2 "ie2v2, $ie2v2\n"; print input2 "ie2v3, $ie2v3\n"; print input2 "ie2v4, $ie2v4\n"; print input2 "ie2v5, $ie2v5\n"; print input2 "ie2v6, $ie2v6\n"; print input2 "ie2v7, $ie2v7\n"; print input2 "ie2v8, $ie2v8\n"; print input2 "ie2v9, $ie2v9\n"; print input2 "ie2v10, $ie2v10\n"; $temp1 = $ie2v1+$ie2v2+$ie2v3+$ie2v4+$ie2v5+$ie2v6+$ie2v7; $temp2 = $ie2v9/100; $temp3 = 1-$temp2; $temp4 = $temp1/$temp3; $temp5 = ($ie2v10*$temp4)/$ie2v8; $A = int($temp5*100)/100;
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$B = int($temp5*20); $C = int($temp1*100)/100; $D = int($temp5*2)/100; return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "3") { $ie3v1 = int(rand(500))+50; # cost from 50 to 500 dollars $ie3v2 = int(rand(200))+6800; # monthly demand from 5000 to 7000 $ie3v3 = int(rand(100))+10; # inventory holding cost $ie3v4 = int(rand(100))+15000; # replenishment rate print input2 "ie3v1, $ie3v1\n"; print input2 "ie3v2, $ie3v2\n"; print input2 "ie3v3, $ie3v3\n"; print input2 "ie3v3, $ie3v3\n"; $temp1 = 2*$ie3v1*$ie3v2; $temp2 = $ie3v2/$ie3v4; $temp3 = 1-$temp2; $temp4 = $ie3v3*$temp3; $temp5 = $temp1/$temp4; $temp6 = $temp5^0.5; $A = int($temp6*100)/100; $B = int(rand(200)+200); $C = int(rand(150)+200); $D = int(rand(100)+200); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "4") { $ie4v1 = int(rand(10))+89; #percent of non conforming gears $ie4v2 = int(rand(50))+250; #num of gears per hour print input2 "ie4v1, $ie4v1\n"; print input2 "ie4v2, $ie4v2\n"; $temp1 = $ie4v1/100; $temp2 = 1-$temp1; $temp3 = $temp2*$ie4v2; $A = int($temp3*100)/100; $B = int($temp3*2); $C = int($temp1); $D = int($temp3/1.5); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); }
128
elsif ($qnum eq "5") { $ie5v1 = int(rand(40000))+20; # taylors constant 1 $ie5v2 = int(rand(0.89)*100)/100+0.1; # taylors const. 2 $ie5v3 = int(rand(250))+50; # tool life $ie5v4 = int(rand(4000))+1000; # speed of rotation of lathe $ie5v5 = int(rand(30))+25; # diameter of bar $ie5v6 = int(rand(6000))+2000; # speed for new tool life print input2 "ie5v1, $ie5v1\n"; print input2 "ie5v2, $ie5v2\n"; print input2 "ie5v3, $ie5v3\n"; print input2 "ie5v4, $ie5v4\n"; print input2 "ie5v5, $ie5v5\n"; print input2 "ie5v6, $ie5v6\n"; $temp1 = 1/$ie5v1; $temp2 = $ie5v3^$temp1; $temp3 = $ie5v4/$ie5v6; $temp4 = $temp3*$temp2; $A = int($temp40); $B = int($temp4*1.5); $C = int($temp4/1.5); $D = int($temp3); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "6") { $ie6v1 = int(rand(40000))+20; # taylors constant 1 $ie6v2 = int(rand(0.89)*100)/100+0.1; # taylors const. 2 $ie6v3 = int(rand(500))+500; # tool replacement cost $ie6v4 = int(rand(3000))+2000; # tool speed $ie6v5 = int(rand(30))+20; # labor cost $ie6v6 = int(rand(30))+20; # production cost $ie6v7 = int(rand(3000))+2000; # new tool speed print input2 "ie6v1, $ie6v1\n"; print input2 "ie6v2, $ie6v2\n"; print input2 "ie6v3, $ie6v3\n"; print input2 "ie6v4, $ie6v4\n"; print input2 "ie6v5, $ie6v5\n"; print input2 "ie6v6, $ie6v6\n";
129
print input2 "ie6v7, $ie6v7\n"; $temp1 = 1/$ie6v2; $temp2 = $ie6v1/$ie6v7; $temp3 = $temp1*$temp2; $temp4 = $ie6v3*$temp3/$ie6v4; $A = int($temp4*100)/100; $B = int($temp3); $C = int($temp3*2); $D = int($temp2*100); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "7") { $ie7v1 = int(rand(25))+25; # time for packing $ie7v2 = int(rand(40))+80; # working pace $ie7v3 = int(rand(80))+400; # shift time $ie7v4 = int(rand(15))+5; # allownace print input2 "ie7v1, $ie7v1\n"; print input2 "ie7v2, $ie7v2\n"; print input2 "ie7v3, $ie7v3\n"; print input2 "ie7v4, $ie7v4\n"; $temp1 = $ie7v1*$ie7v2/100; $temp2 = $ie7v4/100; $temp3 = 1-$temp2; $temp4 = $temp1/$temp3; $temp5 = $ie7v3/$temp4; $A = int($temp5*100)/100; $B = int($temp4^2); $C = int($temp5*2); $D = int($$temp2*100); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "8") { $ie8v1 = int(rand(240))+10; $ie8v2 = int(rand(15))+5; $ie8v3 = int(rand(30))+10; $ie8v4 = int(rand(15))+10; print input2 "ie8v1, $ie8v1\n"; print input2 "ie8v2, $ie8v2\n";
130
# weight
print input2 "ie8v3, $ie8v3\n"; print input2 "ie8v4, $ie8v4\n"; $temp1 = $ie8v1*9.81; $temp2 = $temp1/2; $temp3 = $ie8v4+$temp2; $temp4 = ($temp2*$ie8v3)+($ie8v4*$ie8v2); $A = int($temp4); $B = int($temp2); $C = int($temp1); $D = int($temp1*2); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "9") { $ie9v1 = int(rand(40))+10; # weight $ie9v2 = int(rand(40))+15; $ie9v3 = int(rand(100))+50; $ie9v4 = int(rand(66))+15; $ie9v5 = int(rand(17))+3; print input2 "ie9v1, $ie9v1\n"; print input2 "ie9v2, $ie9v2\n"; print input2 "ie9v3, $ie9v3\n"; print input2 "ie9v4, $ie9v4\n"; print input2 "ie9v5, $ie9v5\n"; $temp1 = $ie9v5/12; $temp2 = 1-$temp1; $temp3 = 0.7+(7.5/$ie9v3); $temp4 = (0.004)*(abs($ie9v2-75)); $temp7 = 1-$temp4; $temp5 = 40*15/$ie9v4; $temp6 = $temp2*$temp3*$temp7*$temp5; $A = int($temp6); $B = int($temp2); $C = int($temp1); $D = int($temp1*2); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "10") { $ie10v1 = int(rand(50000))+10000; $ie10v2 = int(rand(4000))+1000;
131
# weight
$ie10v3 = int(rand(300))+200; $ie10v4 = int(rand(300))+200; print input2 "ie10v1, $ie10v1\n"; print input2 "ie10v2, $ie10v2\n"; print input2 "ie10v3, $ie10v3\n"; print input2 "ie10v4, $ie10v4\n"; print input2 "ie10v5, $ie10v5\n"; $temp1 = $ie10v1/$ie10v3; $temp2 = $ie10v2/$ie10v4; $temp3 = $ie10v1*$temp2; $temp4 = $temp3+$temp1; $A = int($temp4); $B = int($temp2); $C = int($temp1); $D = int($temp1*2); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "11") { $ie11v1 = int(rand(50000))+10000; $ie11v2 = int(rand(4000))+1000; $ie11v3 = int(rand(40))+10; $ie11v4 = int(rand(40))+10; print input2 "ie11v1, $ie11v1\n"; print input2 "ie11v2, $ie11v2\n"; print input2 "ie11v3, $ie11v3\n"; print input2 "ie11v4, $ie11v4\n"; print input2 "ie11v5, $ie11v5\n"; $temp1 = $ie11v1/$ie11v3; $temp2 = $ie11v2/$ie11v4; $temp3 = $temp1*$temp2; $temp4 = $temp3+$temp1; $A = int($temp4); $B = int($temp2); $C = int($temp1); $D = int($temp1*2); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); }
132
# weight
elsif ($qnum eq "12") { $ie12v1 = int(rand(50000))+10000; $ie12v2 = int(rand(4000))+1000; $ie12v3 = int(rand(300))+200; $ie12v4 = int(rand(300))+200;
# weight
print input2 "ie12v1, $ie12v1\n"; print input2 "ie12v2, $ie12v2\n"; print input2 "ie12v3, $ie12v3\n"; print input2 "ie12v4, $ie12v4\n"; print input2 "ie12v5, $ie12v5\n"; $temp1 = $ie12v1/$ie12v3; $temp2 = $ie12v2/$ie12v4; $temp3 = $temp1+$temp2; $A = int($temp3); $B = int($temp2); $C = int($temp1); $D = int($temp1*2); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "13") { $ie13v1 = int(rand(0.89)*100)/100+0.1; $ie13v2 = int(rand(0.89)*100)/100+0.1; $ie13v3 = int(rand(0.89)*100)/100+0.1; print input2 "ie13v1, $ie13v1\n"; print input2 "ie13v2, $ie13v2\n"; print input2 "ie13v3, $ie13v3\n"; $A = int($ie13v1*$ie13v3*$ie13v2); $B = int($ie13v1*$ie13v3); $C = int($ie13v1*$ie13v2); $D = int($ie13v3*$ie13v2); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "14") { $ie14v1 = int(rand(80))+20; $ie14v2 = int(rand(5))+5; $ie14v3 = int(rand(8))+7; $ie14v4 = int(rand(20))+5;
133
# weight
# weight
print input2 "ie14v1, $ie14v1\n"; print input2 "ie14v2, $ie14v2\n"; print input2 "ie14v3, $ie14v3\n"; print input2 "ie14v4, $ie14v4\n"; $temp1 = $ie14v1+$ie14v2; $temp2 = $ie14v1/$temp1; $temp3 = $ie14v3+$ie14v4; $temp4 = $ie14v3/$temp3; $temp5 = $temp2*$temp4; $A = int($temp5); $B = int($temp2); $C = int($temp1); $D = int($temp1*2); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "15") { $ie15v1 = int(rand(0.09)*100)/100+0.001; $ie15v2 = int(rand(240))+10;
# weight
print input2 "ie15v1, $ie15v1\n"; print input2 "ie15v2, $ie15v2\n"; $temp1 = 1-$ie15v1; $temp2 = $temp1^$ie15v2; $temp3 = 1-$temp2; $A = int($temp3); $B = int($temp2); $C = int($temp1); $D = int($temp1*2); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "16") { $ie16v1 = int(rand(40))+20; $ie16v2 = int(rand(10))+60; $ie16v3 = int(rand(200))+70;
134
# weight
print input2 "ie16v1, $ie16v1\n"; print input2 "ie16v2, $ie16v2\n"; print input2 "ie16v3, $ie16v3\n"; $temp1 = $ie16v1/$ie16v2; $temp2 = 1-$temp1; $temp3 = $ie16v3*$temp1*$temp2; $temp4 = sqrt($temp3); $A = int($temp4); $B = int($temp3); $C = int($temp2); $D = int($temp1*2); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "17") { $ie17v1 = int(rand(10))+11; $ie17v2 = int(rand(10))+5;
# queuing prob1
print input2 "ie17v1, $ie17v1\n"; print input2 "ie17v2, $ie17v2\n"; $temp1 = $ie17v2/$ie17v1; $temp2 = 100*$temp1; $A = int($temp2); $B = int($temp1); $C = int($temp2*2); $D = int($temp2/2); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "18") { $ie18v1 = int(rand(40))+10; $ie18v2 = int(rand(60))+10;
# queuing prob2
print input2 "ie18v1, $ie18v1\n"; print input2 "ie18v2, $ie18v2\n";
135
$temp1 = $ie18v2/(8*60); $temp2 = 1/$temp1; $temp3 = $temp2-$temp1; $temp4 = $temp1/$temp3; $A = int($temp4); $B = int($temp3); $C = int($temp4*2); $D = int($temp1); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "19") { $ie19v1 = int(rand(13))+2; $ie19v2 = int(rand(6))+3;
# queuing prob3
print input2 "ie19v1, $ie19v1\n"; print input2 "ie19v2, $ie19v2\n"; $temp1 = 1/$ie19v1; $temp2 = 1/$ie19v2; $temp3 = $temp2-$temp1; $temp4 = $temp2/$temp3; $A = int($temp4); $B = int($temp3); $C = int($temp4*2); $D = int($temp1); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "20") { $ie20v1 = int(rand(60))+20; $ie20v2 = int(rand(2))+2; $ie20v3 = int(rand(2))+5;
# queuing prob4
print input2 "ie20v1, $ie20v1\n"; print input2 "ie20v2, $ie20v2\n"; $temp1 = $ie20v3-$ie20v2; $temp2 = $ie20v1/100; $temp3 = $temp2*8; $temp4 = 1/$temp1;
136
$temp5 = $temp3/$temp2; $temp6 = $temp2*$temp3*$temp4*$temp5; $A = int($temp6); $B = int($temp2*$temp3*$temp4); $C = int($temp4*$temp2*$temp5); $D = int($temp4*$temp3*$temp5); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "21") { $ie21v1 = int(rand(100))+50; $ie21v2 = int(rand(20))+10;
# queuing prob5
print input2 "ie21v1, $ie21v1\n"; print input2 "ie21v2, $ie21v2\n"; $temp1 = $ie21v1/24; $temp2 = 60/$ie21v2; $temp3 = $temp2-$temp1; $temp4 = $temp1/$temp3; $temp5 = $temp1/$temp2; $temp6 = $temp4*$temp5; $A = int($temp6); $B = int($temp2*$temp3*$temp4); $C = int($temp4*$temp2*$temp5); $D = int($temp4*$temp3*$temp5); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "22") { $ie22v1 = int(rand(1000))+1000; $ie22v2 = 3; $ie22v3 = int(rand(2))+3; print input2 "ie22v1, $ie22v1\n"; print input2 "ie22v2, $ie22v2\n"; print input2 "ie22v3, $ie22v3\n"; $temp1 = $ie22v1*($ie22v3/100); $temp2 = $ie22v1+$temp1; $temp3 = $temp1*($ie22v3/100);
137
# econ prob1
$temp4 = $temp1+$temp3; $temp5 = $temp4*($ie22v3/100); $temp6 = $temp4+$temp5; $A = int($temp6); $B = int($temp2*$temp3*$temp4); $C = int($temp4*$temp2*$temp5); $D = int($temp4*$temp3*$temp5); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "23") { $ie23v1 = int(rand(3000))+4000; $ie23v2 = int(rand(4))+3; $ie23v3 = int(rand(5))+5;
# econ prob2
print input2 "ie23v1, $ie23v1\n"; print input2 "ie23v2, $ie23v2\n"; print input2 "ie23v3, $ie23v3\n"; $temp1 = $ie23v2/100; $temp2 = (1+$temp1)^$ie23v3; $temp3 = $temp2*$ie23v1; $A = int($temp3); $B = int($temp2*$temp3); $C = int($temp2); $D = int($temp1*$temp3); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "24") { $ie24v1 = int(rand(200000))+200000; $ie24v2 = int(rand(10))+15; $ie24v3 = int(rand(2))+8; print input2 "ie24v1, $ie24v1\n"; print input2 "ie24v2, $ie24v2\n"; print input2 "ie24v3, $ie24v3\n"; $temp1 = $ie24v3/100; $temp2 = $temp1*$ie24v1; $temp3 = (1+$temp1)^$ie24v2; $temp4 = $temp3-1;
138
# econ prob3
$temp5 = $temp2/$temp4; $A = int($temp5); $B = int($temp2*$temp3); $C = int($temp2*$temp5); $D = int($temp1*$temp3); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "25") { $ie25v1 = int(rand(2000))+3000; $ie25v2 = int(rand(5))+5; $ie25v3 = int(rand(10))+5;
# econ prob4
print input2 "ie25v1, $ie25v1\n"; print input2 "ie25v2, $ie25v2\n"; print input2 "ie25v3, $ie25v3\n"; $temp1 = $ie25v2/100; $temp2 = exp($temp1); $temp3 = $temp2-1; $temp4 = $temp3*$temp1; $temp5 = exp($temp4); $temp6 = $temp5-1; $temp7 = $ie25v1*$temp6; $A = int($temp7); $B = int($temp7*$temp3); $C = int($temp7*$temp5); $D = int($temp7*$temp4); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "26") { $ie26v1 = int(rand(10000))+20000; $ie26v2 = int(rand(5))+5; $ie26v3 = int(rand(5))+15; print input2 "ie26v1, $ie26v1\n"; print input2 "ie26v2, $ie26v2\n"; print input2 "ie26v3, $ie26v3\n"; $temp1 = $ie26v3/100;
139
# econ prob5
$temp2 = ($temp1+1)^(-$ie26v2); $temp3 = $temp2*$ie26v1;
$A = int($temp3); $B = int($temp2*$temp3); $C = int($temp2); $D = int($temp2*2); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "27") { $ie27v1 = int(rand(5))+15;
# econ prob6
print input2 "ie27v1, $ie27v1\n"; $temp1 = 1/$ie27v1; $temp2 = ($temp1/12)+1; $temp3 = ($temp2)^3; $temp4 = $temp3-1; $A = int($temp4); $B = int($temp2*$temp3); $C = int($temp2); $D = int($temp3*2); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "28") { $ie28v1 = int(rand(20000))+20000; $ie28v2 = int(rand(100))+800000; $ie28v3 = int(rand(5000))+3000; $ie28v4 = int(rand(3000))+12000; print input2 "ie28v1, $ie28v1\n"; print input2 "ie28v2, $ie28v2\n"; print input2 "ie28v3, $ie28v3\n"; print input2 "ie28v3, $ie28v3\n"; $temp1 = $ie28v4-$ie28v3;
140
# econ prob7
$temp2 = $ie28v2/$temp1; $A = int($temp2); $B = int($temp2*3); $C = int($temp1); $D = int($ie28v3); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "29") { $ie29v1 = int(rand(20000))+20000; $ie29v2 = int(rand(100))+800000; $ie29v3 = int(rand(5000))+3000; $ie29v4 = int(rand(3000))+12000;
# econ prob8
print input2 "ie29v1, $ie29v1\n"; print input2 "ie29v2, $ie29v2\n"; print input2 "ie29v3, $ie29v3\n"; print input2 "ie29v3, $ie29v3\n"; $temp1 = $ie29v4*$ie29v1; $temp2 = $ie29v3*$ie29v1; $temp3 = $temp1-$ie29v2-$temp2; $A = int($temp3); $B = int($temp2); $C = int($temp1); $D = int($temp2*1.5); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "30") { $ie30v1 = int(rand(200))+500000; $ie30v2 = int(rand(20))+30; print input2 "ie30v1, $ie30v1\n"; print input2 "ie30v2, $ie30v2\n"; $temp1 = $ie30v2/100; $temp2 = 1-$temp1; $temp3 = $ie30v1/$temp2; $A = int($temp3);
141
# econ prob8
$B = int($temp2); $C = int($temp1); $D = int($temp2*1.5); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "31") { $ie31v1 = int(rand(10000))+250000; $ie31v2 = int(rand(20000))+300000; $ie31v3 = int(rand(5))+5;
# econ prob10
print input2 "ie31v1, $ie31v1\n"; print input2 "ie31v2, $ie31v2\n"; print input2 "ie31v3, $ie31v3\n"; $temp1 = $ie31v1/$ie31v3; $A = int($temp1); $B = int($temp1/2); $C = int($temp1/0.5); $D = int($temp1*1.5); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "32") { $ie32v1 = int(rand(10000))+250000; $ie32v2 = int(rand(20000))+300000; $ie32v3 = int(rand(5))+5; print input2 "ie32v1, $ie32v1\n"; print input2 "ie32v2, $ie32v2\n"; print input2 "ie32v3, $ie32v3\n"; $temp1 = $ie32v1/$ie32v3; $temp2 = $temp1/$ie32v1; $A = int($temp2); $B = int($temp2/2); $C = int($temp1/0.5); $D = int($temp1*1.5); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "33")
142
# econ prob11
{ $ie33v1 = int(rand(10000))+10000; $ie33v2 = int(rand(4))+3; $ie33v3 = int(rand(4))+8;
# econ prob12
print input2 "ie33v1, $ie33v1\n"; print input2 "ie33v2, $ie33v2\n"; print input2 "ie33v3, $ie33v3\n"; $temp1 = $ie33v3/100; $temp2 = $ie33v2/100; $temp3 = ($temp1+1); $temp4 = ($temp2+1); $temp5 = $temp3/$temp4; $temp6 = $temp5-1; $temp7 = ($temp6*100); $A = int($temp7); $B = int($temp6); $C = int($temp5); $D = int($temp2); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "34") { $ie34v1 = int(rand(1000))+200000; $ie34v2 = int(rand(5000))+15000; $ie34v3 = int(rand(2000))+3000;
# econ prob13
print input2 "ie34v1, $ie34v1\n"; print input2 "ie34v2, $ie34v2\n"; print input2 "ie34v3, $ie34v3\n"; $temp1 = $ie34v2-$ie34v3; $temp2 = $ie34v1/$temp1; $A = int($temp2); $B = int($temp2*1.5); $C = int($temp2/0.75); $D = int($temp1); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "35") {
143
$ie35v1 = int(rand(1000))+200000; $ie35v2 = int(rand(2))+3; $ie35v3 = int(rand(15000))+25000;
# econ prob14
print input2 "ie35v1, $ie35v1\n"; print input2 "ie35v2, $ie35v2\n"; print input2 "ie35v3, $ie35v3\n"; $temp1 = $ie35v1/$ie35v3; $A = int($temp1); $B = int($temp1*1.5); $C = int($temp1/0.75); $D = int($ie35v2); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "36") { $ie36v1 = int(rand(5000))+10000; $ie36v2 = int(rand(2))+2; $ie36v3 = int(rand(200))+500;
# econ prob13
print input2 "ie36v1, $ie36v1\n"; print input2 "ie36v2, $ie36v2\n"; print input2 "ie36v3, $ie36v3\n"; $temp1 = $ie36v1/12; $temp2 = 2*$ie36v3*$temp1; $temp3 = $temp2/$ie36v2; $temp4 = sqrt($temp3); $A = int($temp4); $B = int($temp1*1.5); $C = int($temp1/0.75); $D = int($temp3); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "37") { $ie37v1 = int(rand(5000))+10000; $ie37v2 = int(rand(2))+2; $ie37v3 = int(rand(200))+500;
144
# econ prob13
print input2 "ie37v1, $ie37v1\n"; print input2 "ie37v2, $ie37v2\n"; print input2 "ie37v3, $ie37v3\n"; $temp1 = $ie37v1/12; $temp2 = 2*$ie37v3; $temp3 = $temp1*$ie37v2; $temp4 = $temp2/$temp3; $temp5 = sqrt($temp4); $A = int($temp5); $B = int($temp4); $C = int($temp5/1.25); $D = int($temp4/0.85); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "38") { $ie38v1 = int(rand(5000))+10000; $ie38v2 = int(rand(2))+2; $ie38v3 = int(rand(200))+500;
# econ prob13
print input2 "ie38v1, $ie38v1\n"; print input2 "ie38v2, $ie38v2\n"; print input2 "ie38v3, $ie38v3\n"; $temp1 = $ie38v1/12; $temp2 = 2*$ie38v3*$ie38v2*$temp1; $temp3 = sqrt($temp2); $A = int($temp3); $B = int($temp2); $C = int($temp1); $D = int($temp3/0.85); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "39") { $ie39v1 = int(rand(15000))+5000; $ie39v2 = int(rand(300))+200; $ie39v3 = int(rand(3))+3;
145
# invent prob4
print input2 "ie39v1, $ie39v1\n"; print input2 "ie39v2, $ie39v2\n"; print input2 "ie39v3, $ie39v3\n"; $temp1 = 2*$ie39v1*$ie39v2/$ie39v3; $temp2 = sqrt($temp1); $A = int($temp2); $B = int($temp1); $C = int($temp1/0.85); $D = int($temp2/0.85); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "40") { $ie40v1 = int(rand(15000))+5000; $ie40v2 = int(rand(300))+200; $ie40v3 = int(rand(3))+3;
# invent prob4
print input2 "ie40v1, $ie40v1\n"; print input2 "ie40v2, $ie40v2\n"; print input2 "ie40v3, $ie40v3\n"; $temp1 = $ie40v1*$ie40v3/2*$ie40v2; $temp2 = sqrt($temp1); $temp3 = 1/$temp2; $A = int($temp3); $B = int($temp2); $C = int($temp1/0.85); $D = int($temp3/0.85); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "41") { $ie41v1 = int(rand(15000))+5000; $ie41v2 = int(rand(300))+200; $ie41v3 = int(rand(3))+3; print input2 "ie41v1, $ie41v1\n"; print input2 "ie41v2, $ie41v2\n"; print input2 "ie41v3, $ie41v3\n";
146
# invent prob6
$temp1 = 2*$ie41v1*$ie41v3*$ie41v2; $temp2 = sqrt($temp1); $temp3 = $ie41v1+$temp2; $A = int($temp3); $B = int($temp2); $C = int($temp1/1.25); $D = int($temp3/1.25); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "42") { $ie42v1 = int(rand(1000))+500; $ie42v2 = int(rand(15))+25; $ie42v3 = int(rand(15))+33; $ie42v4 = int(rand(3))+5;
# invent prob7
print input2 "ie42v1, $ie42v1\n"; print input2 "ie42v2, $ie42v2\n"; print input2 "ie42v3, $ie42v3\n"; print input2 "ie42v4, $ie42v4\n"; $temp1 = $ie42v4/100; $temp2 = $temp1*50/52; $temp3 = $ie42v1*$ie42v2; $temp4 = 2*$temp2*$ie42v3*$ie42v1; $temp5 = sqrt($temp4); $temp6 = $temp5+$temp3; $A = int($temp6); $B = int($temp5+$temp2); $C = int($temp4+$temp5); $D = int($temp4/1.25); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "43") { $ie43v1 = int(rand(3000))+2000; $ie43v2 = int(rand(20))+30; $ie43v3 = int(rand(15))+15;
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# invent prob8
$ie43v4 = int(rand(3))+2; print input2 "ie43v1, $ie43v1\n"; print input2 "ie43v2, $ie43v2\n"; print input2 "ie43v3, $ie43v3\n"; print input2 "ie43v4, $ie43v4\n"; $temp1 = $ie43v4*$ie43v1; $temp2 = 2*$ie43v2*$ie43v3/$temp1; $temp3 = sqrt($temp2); $A = int($temp3); $B = int($temp2); $C = int($temp1); $D = int($temp3/1.25); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "44") { $ie44v1 = int(rand(50))+100; # invent prob8 $ie44v2 = int(rand(200))+400; $ie44v3 = int(rand(2))+2; $ie44v4 = int(rand(5))+10; print input2 "ie44v1, $ie44v1\n"; print input2 "ie44v2, $ie44v2\n"; print input2 "ie44v3, $ie44v3\n"; print input2 "ie44v4, $ie44v4\n"; $temp1 = 2*$ie44v1*$ie44v2/$ie44v3; $temp2 = sqrt($temp1); $temp3 = $temp2/$ie44v1; $temp4 = $ie44v4-$temp3; $temp5 = $ie44v1*$temp4; $A = int($temp5); $B = int($temp4); $C = int($temp3); $D = int($temp5/1.25); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); }
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elsif ($qnum eq "45") { $ie45v1 = int(rand(50))+25; # invent prob10 $ie45v2 = int(rand(2000))+5000; $ie45v3 = int(rand(200))+500; $ie45v4 = int(rand(2))+1; $ie45v5 = int(rand(4))+8; $ie45v6 = int(rand(4))+5; $ie45v7 = int(rand(200))+200;
print input2 "ie45v1, $ie45v1\n"; print input2 "ie45v2, $ie45v2\n"; print input2 "ie45v3, $ie45v3\n"; print input2 "ie45v4, $ie45v4\n"; print input2 "ie45v5, $ie45v5\n"; print input2 "ie45v6, $ie45v6\n"; print input2 "ie45v7, $ie45v7\n"; $temp1 = 2*$ie45v1*$ie45v3; $temp2 = ($ie45v4+$ie45v5+$ie45v6)/100; $temp3 = $temp2*$ie45v7; $temp4 = $temp1/$temp3; $temp5 = sqrt($temp4); $temp6 = 0.5*$temp5*$temp2*$ie45v2; $A = int($temp6); $B = int($temp4); $C = int($temp3); $D = int($temp6/1.25); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "45") { $ie45v1 = int(rand(50))+25; # invent prob10 $ie45v2 = int(rand(2000))+5000; $ie45v3 = int(rand(200))+500; $ie45v4 = int(rand(2))+1; $ie45v5 = int(rand(4))+8; $ie45v6 = int(rand(4))+5; $ie45v7 = int(rand(200))+200;
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print input2 "ie45v1, $ie45v1\n"; print input2 "ie45v2, $ie45v2\n"; print input2 "ie45v3, $ie45v3\n"; print input2 "ie45v4, $ie45v4\n"; print input2 "ie45v5, $ie45v5\n"; print input2 "ie45v6, $ie45v6\n"; print input2 "ie45v7, $ie45v7\n"; $temp1 = 2*$ie45v1*$ie45v3; $temp2 = ($ie45v4+$ie45v5+$ie45v6)/100; $temp3 = $temp2*$ie45v7; $temp4 = $temp1/$temp3; $temp5 = sqrt($temp4); $temp6 = 0.5*$temp5*$temp2*$ie45v2; $A = int($temp6); $B = int($temp4); $C = int($temp3); $D = int($temp6/1.25); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "46") { $ie46v1 = int(rand(5000))+10000; $ie46v2 = int(rand(500))+2000; $ie46v3 = int(rand(300))+200; $ie46v4 = int(rand(2))+2;
# invent prob11
print input2 "ie46v1, $ie46v1\n"; print input2 "ie46v2, $ie46v2\n"; print input2 "ie46v3, $ie46v3\n"; print input2 "ie46v4, $ie46v4\n"; $temp1 = 12*$ie46v2; $temp2 = $ie46v4*12; $temp3 = 2*$temp1*$ie46v1*$ie46v3; $temp4 = $temp2*($temp1-$ie46v1); $temp5 = $temp3/$temp4; $temp6 = sqrt($temp5);
150
$A = int($temp6); $B = int($temp4); $C = int($temp5); $D = int($temp6/1.25); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "47") { $ie47v1 = int(rand(7000))+5000; $ie47v2 = int(rand(50))+50; $ie47v3 = int(rand(7))+3; $ie47v4 = int(rand(5))+5;
# invent prob12
print input2 "ie47v1, $ie47v1\n"; print input2 "ie47v2, $ie47v2\n"; print input2 "ie47v3, $ie47v3\n"; print input2 "ie47v4, $ie47v4\n"; $temp1 = 2*$ie47v1*$ie47v2/$ie47v3; $temp2 = sqrt($temp1); $temp3 = ($ie47v4*$ie47v3)/$ie47v4; $temp4 = sqrt($temp3); $temp5 = $temp3*$temp4; $A = int($temp5); $B = int($temp4); $C = int($temp5*1.15); $D = int($temp5/1.15); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "48") { $ie48v1 = int(rand(50))+100; $ie48v2 = int(rand(5))+5; $ie48v3 = int(rand(5))+10;
# invent prob13
print input2 "ie48v1, $ie48v1\n"; print input2 "ie48v2, $ie48v2\n"; print input2 "ie48v3, $ie48v3\n";
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$temp1 = $ie48v3/30; $temp2 = $ie48v1*$ie48v2; $temp3 = $ie48v2+$ie48v3; $temp4 = $temp2/$temp3; $A = int($temp4); $B = int($temp3); $C = int($temp4*1.15); $D = int($temp4/1.15); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "49") { $ie49v1 = int(rand(2))+1; # sqc1 $ie49v2 = int(rand(1)*100)/100+0.003; $ie49v3 = int(rand(3))+3; print input2 "ie49v1, $ie49v1\n"; print input2 "ie49v2, $ie49v2\n"; print input2 "ie49v3, $ie49v3\n"; $temp1 = sqrt($ie49v3); $temp2 = 2*$ie49v2/$temp1; $temp3 = $ie49v1+$temp2; $A = int($temp3); $B = int($temp2); $C = int($temp3*1.15); $D = int($temp3/1.15); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "50") { $ie50v1 = int(rand(2))+1; # sqc2 $ie50v2 = int(rand(1)*100)/100+0.003; $ie50v3 = int(rand(3))+3; print input2 "ie50v1, $ie50v1\n";
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print input2 "ie50v2, $ie50v2\n"; print input2 "ie50v3, $ie50v3\n"; $temp1 = sqrt($ie50v3); $temp2 = 3*$ie50v2/$temp1; $temp3 = $ie50v1-$temp2; $A = int($temp3); $B = int($temp2); $C = int($temp3*1.15); $D = int($temp3/1.15); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "51") { $ie51v1 = int(rand(15))+25; # sqc3 $ie51v2 = int(rand(500))+1500; $ie51v3 = int(rand(5))+10; print input2 "ie51v1, $ie51v1\n"; print input2 "ie51v2, $ie51v2\n"; print input2 "ie51v3, $ie51v3\n"; $temp1 = $ie51v3/100; $temp2 = (1-$temp1)*$temp1/$ie51v2; $temp3 = sqrt($temp2); $temp4 = 3*($temp3); $temp5 = $temp1+$temp4; $A = int($temp5); $B = int($temp4); $C = int($temp5*1.15); $D = int($temp5/1.15); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "52") { $ie52v1 = int(rand(3))+5; $ie52v2 = int(rand(3))+3; $ie52v3 = int(rand(3))+6;
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# proj1
print input2 "ie52v1, $ie52v1\n"; print input2 "ie52v2, $ie52v2\n"; print input2 "ie52v3, $ie52v3\n"; $temp1 = (4*$ie52v2)+$ie52v1+$ie52v3; $temp2 = $temp1/6; $A = int($temp2); $B = int($temp1/5); $C = int($temp1); $D = int($ie52v2+$ie52v1+$ie52v3)/6; return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "53") { $ie53v1 = int(rand(5))+5; # proj1 $ie53v2 = int(rand(5000))+10000; $ie53v3 = int(rand(20))+70; print input2 "ie53v1, $ie53v1\n"; print input2 "ie53v2, $ie53v2\n"; print input2 "ie53v3, $ie53v3\n"; $temp1 = $ie53v3/100; $temp2 = log($temp1); $temp3 = log(2); $temp4 = $temp2/$temp3; $temp5 = ($ie53v1+0.5)^($temp4+1); $temp6 = (0.5)^($temp4+1); $temp7 = $ie53v2*($temp5-$temp6); $temp8 = $temp7/($temp4+1); $A = int($temp8); $B = int($temp7); $C = int($temp8*0.5); $D = int($temp5); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "54") {
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$ie54v1 = int(rand(3))+4; # proj1 $ie54v2 = int(rand(10))+5; $ie54v3 = int(rand(3))+2; print input2 "ie54v1, $ie54v1\n"; print input2 "ie54v2, $ie54v2\n"; print input2 "ie54v3, $ie54v3\n"; $temp1 = $ie54v1/60; $temp2 = $temp1*$ie54v2*$ie54v3; $A = int($temp2); $B = int($temp1*$ie54v2*60); $C = int($temp1*$ie54v3*60); $D = int($temp2*30); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); }
elsif ($qnum eq "55") { $ie55v1 = int(rand(30))+70; $ie55v2 = int(rand(30))+40;
# proj1
print input2 "ie55v1, $ie55v1\n"; print input2 "ie55v2, $ie55v2\n"; $temp1 = $ie55v1*0.5; $temp2 = ($temp1+$ie55v2)/1.5; $A = int($temp2); $B = int($temp1+$ie55v2)/0.5; $C = int($temp1+$ie55v2); $D = int($temp1+$ie55v2)*0.5; return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "56") { $ie56v1 = int(rand(5))+10; # cim1 $ie56v2 = int(rand(30))+120;
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$ie56v3 = int(rand(2))+2; $ie56v4 = int(rand(6))+4; $ie56v5 = int(rand(2))+6; $ie56v6 = int(rand(2))+10; print input2 "ie56v1, $ie56v1\n"; print input2 "ie56v2, $ie56v2\n"; print input2 "ie56v3, $ie56v3\n"; print input2 "ie56v4, $ie56v4\n"; print input2 "ie56v5, $ie56v5\n"; print input2 "ie56v6, $ie56v6\n"; $temp1 = $ie56v4/60; $temp2 = ($temp1*$ie56v2)+$ie56v3+8; $temp3 = $ie56v6*$temp2; $A = int($temp3); $B = int(($temp1*$ie56v2)+$ie56v3); $C = int(($temp1*$ie56v1)+$ie56v2); $D = int(($temp1*$ie56v6)+$ie56v5); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "57") { $ie57v1 = int(rand(5))+7; # cim2 $ie57v2 = int(rand(7))+8; $ie57v3 = int(rand(400))+1200; print input2 "ie57v1, $ie57v1\n"; print input2 "ie57v2, $ie57v2\n"; print input2 "ie57v3, $ie57v3\n"; $temp1 = 0.1104*$ie57v1*$ie57v2; $temp2 = 0.4417*$ie57v3; $temp3 = $temp1/$temp2; $A = int($temp3); $B = int(0.4417*$ie57v1*$ie57v2); $C = int(0.1104*$ie57v1); $D = int(0.4417*$ie57v2); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); }
156
elsif ($qnum eq "58") { $ie58v1 = int(rand(10))+10; # cim2 $ie58v2 = int(rand(100))+200; $ie58v3 = int(rand(2))+1; $ie58v4 = int(rand(4))+3; print input2 "ie58v1, $ie58v1\n"; print input2 "ie58v2, $ie58v2\n"; print input2 "ie58v3, $ie58v3\n"; print input2 "ie58v4, $ie58v4\n"; $temp1 = $ie58v4/60; $temp2 = $temp1*$ie58v2; $temp3 = $ie58v2+$temp2; $temp4 = $temp3/$ie58v2; $A = int($temp4); $B = int($temp3/$ie58v3); $C = int($temp3/$ie58v4); $D = int($temp2/$ie58v2); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "59") { $ie59v1 = int(rand(10))+10; # cim2 $ie59v2 = int(rand(100))+200; $ie59v3 = int(rand(2))+1; $ie59v4 = int(rand(4))+3; print input2 "ie59v1, $ie59v1\n"; print input2 "ie59v2, $ie59v2\n"; print input2 "ie59v3, $ie59v3\n"; print input2 "ie59v4, $ie59v4\n"; $temp1 = $ie59v4/60; $temp2 = $temp1*$ie59v2; $temp3 = $ie59v2+$temp2; $temp4 = $temp3/$ie59v2; $temp5 = 1/$temp4;
157
$A = int($temp5); $B = int($temp3/$ie59v2); $C = int($temp3/$ie59v4); $D = int($temp2/$ie59v2); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "60") { $ie60v1 = int(rand(3))+2; $ie60v2 = int(rand(3))+2;
# mfg1
print input2 "ie60v1, $ie60v1\n"; print input2 "ie60v2, $ie60v2\n"; $A = int($ie60v1*$ie60v2); $B = int($ie60v1/$ie60v2); $C = int($ie60v1*$ie60v2/2); $D = int($ie60v1); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "61") { $ie61v1 = int(rand(150))/1000+0.05; $ie61v2 = int(rand(20))/1000+0.001; $ie61v3 = int(rand(20))+3; $ie61v4 = int(rand(50))/100+1.5;
# experim1
print input2 "ie61v1, $ie61v1\n"; print input2 "ie61v2, $ie61v2\n"; print input2 "ie61v3, $ie61v3\n"; print input2 "ie61v4, $ie61v4\n"; $A = int($ie61v1*1000+$ie61v2*1000*$ie61v4/sqrt($ie61v3))/1000; $B = int($ie61v1*1000$ie61v2*1000*$ie61v4/sqrt($ie61v3))/1000; $C = int($ie61v1*1000+$ie61v2*1000*$ie61v4/$ie61v3)/1000; $D = int($ie61v1*1000+$ie61v2*1000*$ie61v4/sqrt($ie61v3-1))/1000; return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "62") { $ie62v1 = int(rand(3))+2; $ie62v2 = int(rand(3))+2;
158
# experim2
$ie62v3 = int(rand(2500))+2500; $ie62v4 = int(rand(2500))+2500; print input2 "ie62v1, $ie62v1\n"; print input2 "ie62v2, $ie62v2\n"; print input2 "ie62v3, $ie62v3\n"; print input2 "ie62v4, $ie62v4\n"; $A = int($ie62v4/($ie62v1*($ie62v2-1))); $B = int($ie62v3/($ie62v1*($ie62v2-1))); $C = int($ie62v4/($ie62v1-1)); $D = int($ie62v4/($ie62v2-1)); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "63") { $ie63v1 = int(rand(3))+2; # experim3 $ie63v2 = int(rand(3))+2; $ie63v3 = int(rand(2500))+2500; $ie63v4 = int(rand(2500))+2500; print input2 "ie63v1, $ie63v1\n"; print input2 "ie63v2, $ie63v2\n"; print input2 "ie63v3, $ie63v3\n"; print input2 "ie63v4, $ie63v4\n"; $A = int($ie63v4/($ie63v1*($ie63v2-1))); $B = int($ie63v3/($ie63v1*($ie63v2-1))); $C = int($ie63v4/($ie63v1-1)); $D = int($ie63v4/($ie63v2-1)); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "64") { $ie64v1 = int(rand(3))+2; # experim4 $ie64v2 = int(rand(3))+2; $ie64v3 = int(rand(2500))+2500; $ie64v4 = int(rand(2500))+500; print input2 "ie64v1, $ie64v1\n"; print input2 "ie64v2, $ie64v2\n"; print input2 "ie64v3, $ie64v3\n"; print input2 "ie64v4, $ie64v4\n"; $temp1 = $ie64v4/($ie64v1*($ie64v2-1)); $temp2 = $ie64v3/($ie64v1-1);
159
$A = int(($temp2-$temp1)/$ie64v2); $B = int($ie64v4/($ie64v1*($ie64v2-1))); $C = int(($temp1-$temp2)/$ie64v2); $D = int(($temp2-$temp1)/$ie64v1); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "65") { $ie65v1 = int(rand(3))+2; # experim5 $ie65v2 = int(rand(20))+2; $ie65v3 = int(rand(20))+25; $ie65v4 = int(rand(20))+25; $ie65v5 = int(rand(20))+35; print input2 "ie65v1, $ie65v1\n"; print input2 "ie65v2, $ie65v2\n"; print input2 "ie65v3, $ie65v3\n"; print input2 "ie65v4, $ie65v4\n"; print input2 "ie65v5, $ie65v5\n"; $A = int(($ie65v5+$ie65v2-$ie65v3-$ie65v4)/(2*$ie65v1)); $B = int(($ie65v4+$ie65v2-$ie65v3-$ie65v5)/(2*$ie65v1)); $C = int(($ie65v3+$ie65v2-$ie65v5-$ie65v4)/(2*$ie65v1)); $D = int(($ie65v5+$ie65v2-$ie65v3-$ie65v4)/($ie65v1)); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "66") { $ie66v1 = int(rand(3))+2; # experim6 $ie66v2 = int(rand(20))+2; $ie66v3 = int(rand(20))+25; $ie66v4 = int(rand(20))+25; $ie66v5 = int(rand(20))+35; print input2 "ie66v1, $ie66v1\n"; print input2 "ie66v2, $ie66v2\n"; print input2 "ie66v3, $ie66v3\n"; print input2 "ie66v4, $ie66v4\n"; print input2 "ie66v5, $ie66v5\n"; $A = int(($ie66v5+$ie66v4-$ie66v3-$ie66v2)^2/(4*$ie66v1)); $B = int(($ie66v5+$ie66v4-$ie66v3-$ie66v2)^2/(2*$ie66v1)); $C = int(($ie66v5+$ie66v4-$ie66v3-$ie66v2)/(4*$ie66v1)); $D = int(($ie66v5+$ie66v4-$ie66v3-$ie66v2)/(2*$ie66v1)); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); }
160
elsif ($qnum eq "67") { $ie67v1 = int(rand(20))+10; $ie67v2 = int(rand(50))+20;
# statics1
print input2 "ie67v1, $ie67v1\n"; print input2 "ie67v2, $ie67v2\n"; $A = int(100*$ie67v1*cos($ie67v2*PI/180))/100; $B = int(100*$ie67v1*sin($ie67v2*PI/180))/100; $C = int(100*$ie67v1*tan($ie67v2*PI/180))/100; $D = int(100*$ie67v1*(1-sin($ie67v2*PI/180)))/100; return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "68") { $ie68v1 = int(rand(50))+20; $ie68v2 = int(rand(50))+20; $ie68v3 = int(rand(5))+10; $ie68v4 = int(rand(5))+10;
# statics2
print input2 "ie68v1, $ie68v1\n"; print input2 "ie68v2, $ie68v2\n"; print input2 "ie68v3, $ie68v3\n"; print input2 "ie68v4, $ie68v4\n"; $A = int($ie68v2*$ie68v4-$ie68v1*$ie68v3); $B = int($ie68v2*$ie68v4+$ie68v1*$ie68v3); $C = int(-$ie68v2*$ie68v4+$ie68v1*$ie68v3); $D = int($ie68v2*$ie68v3-$ie68v1*$ie68v4); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } elsif ($qnum eq "69") { $ie69v1 = int(rand(50))+20; $ie69v2 = int(rand(50))+20;
# statics3
print input2 "ie69v1, $ie69v1\n"; print input2 "ie69v2, $ie69v2\n"; $A = int(10*sqrt($ie69v1^2+$ie69v2^2))/10; $B = int(10*sqrt($ie69v1+$ie69v2))/10; $C = int(10*($ie69v1+$ie69v2))/10; $D = int(10*($ie69v1^2+$ie69v2^2))/10; return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); }
161
elsif ($qnum eq "70") { $ie70v1 = int(rand(50))+20; $ie70v2 = int(rand(50))+20; $ie70v3 = int(rand(30))+20;
# statics4
print input2 "ie70v1, $ie70v1\n"; print input2 "ie70v2, $ie70v2\n"; print input2 "ie70v3, $ie70v3\n"; $A = int($ie70v2*cot($ie70v3*PI/180)); $B = int($ie70v2*tan($ie70v3*PI/180)); $C = int($ie70v2*cos($ie70v3*PI/180)); $D = int($ie70v2*sin($ie70v3*PI/180)); return ( $A, $B, $C, $D ); } else { } } # end of industrial questions 1;
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